/•*//- 


.  AVI 


MANNERS 


ANCIENT  ISRAELITES : 


CONTAINING  AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THEIR 


PECULIAR  CUSTOMS  AND  CEREMONIES, 


.AWS,  POLITY,  RELIGION,  SECTS,  ARTS  AND  TRADES,  DIVISIONS 
OF  TIME,  WARS,  CAPTIVITIES,  ETC. 

WITH  A  SHORT  ACCOUNT  OF 

&fje  Ancient  antr  ptotrrm  Samaritans* 

WRITTEN  ORIGINALLY  IN  FRENCH,  BY 

CLAUDE  FLEURY, 

Abbe  of  Argentcuil,  and  Member  of  the  Royal  Academy,  Paris. 


IE  WHOLE  MUCH  ENLARGED  FROM  THE  PRINCIPAL  WRITERS  ON 
JEWISH  ANTIQUITIES, 

BY  ADAM  CLARKE,  L.  L.  D.  F.  S.  A. 


F/-om  the  Second  London  Editwii. 


NEW-YORK, 

PUBLISHED  BY  N.  BANGS  AND  J.  EMORY,  AT  THE  METHODIST 

PRINTING  OFFICE,  CROSBY-STKEET. 

A.  Hoyt,  Printer. 

1825, 


PREFACE. 


EVERY  attempt  to  illustrate  the  BIBLE,  the  oldest 
and  most  important  book  in  the  world,  a  book  that  has 
God  for  its  Jluthw,  and  the  eternal  happiness  of  the  hu- 
man race  for  its  end,  deserves  the  most  serious  attention 
of  all  those  who  profess  the  Christian  religion. 

It  is  granted  on  all  hands,  that  this  book  has  many  dii 
ficulties ;  but  this  is  not  peculiar  to  the  Jewish  scriptures : 
all  ancient  writings  are  full  of  them  :  and  these  difficul- 
ties are  generally  in  proportion  to  the  antiquity  of  such 
writings  ;  for  the  customs,  manners,  and  language  oi 
mankind  are  continually  changing ;  and  were  it  not  for 
the  help  received  from  the  records  of  succeeding  ages, 
which  are  only  accessible  to  the  learned,  many  valuable 
works  of  primitive  times  must  have  remained  in  impene- 
trable obscurity.  Scholars  and  critics  have  exerted  them- 
selves in  the  most  laudable  manner  to  remove  or  eluci- 
date the  difficulties  occurring  in  ancient  authors ;  and 
(thanks  to  their  industry)  they  have  rendered  the  study 
of  these  writers  not  only  easy  but  delightful ;  and  brought 
the  literature  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome  within  the 
reach  even  of  our  children. 

But  the  heathen  icriters  have  not  been  the  only  objects 
of  regard  in  the  grand  system  of  critical  disquisition.  A 
host  of  the  most  eminent  scholars  that  ever  graced  the 
republic  of  letters,  or  ennobled  the  human  character, 
•have  carefully  read,  and  diligently  studied,  the  Sacred 
Writings ;  have  felt  their  beauties,  and  prized  their  ex- 
cellencies ;  and,  by  their  learned  and  pious  works,  have 
not  only  recommended  them  to  mankind  at  large,  but 
rendered  them  useful  to  all  who  wish  to  read  so  as  tc 


20  r 


4  Preface. 

understand.  Some  of  these  have  been  addressed  to  the 
infidel,  others  to  the  scholar,  and  some  to  the  plain  un- 
lettered Christian.  The  number  of  the  latter,  it  is  true, 
has  not  been  great ;  but  what  is  deficient  in  quantity,  is 
supplied  by  the  very  accurate  information  they  impart. 
Such  works  want  only  to  be  generally  known,  to  become 
universally  esteemed. 

In  the  first  rank  of  such  writers  the  Abbe  Fleury,  and 
Father  Lamy,  stand  highly  and  deservedly  distinguished  ; 
the  former  by  his  treatise  entitled  Mceurs  des  Israelites, 
(the  book  now  before  the  reader)  aud  the  latter  by  his 
well-known  work  called  Apparatus  Biblicus.  The  former 
is  the  most  useful  treatise  on  the  subject  I  have  ever  met 
with.  •  • 

In  1756  the  Mceurs  des  Israelites  was  translated  by  the 
Rev.  Ellis  Farnemnrth,  and  dedicated  to  the  Bishop  of 
Litchfield  and  Coventry.  How  it  was  received  I  cannot 
tell,  being  long  before  my  time  ;  but  if  it  sold  in  propor- 
tion to  the  merit  of  the  work,  and  the  fidelity  of  the  exe- 
cution, a  considerable  number  must  soon  have  been 
disposed  of.  When  I  first  thought  of  preparing  a  new 
edition  of  this  work  for  the  public,  I  intended  to  re- 
translate the  original ;  but  on  reading  over  the  translation 
of  Mr.  Farneworth,  I  was  satisfied  that  a  better  one,  on 
the  whole,  could  scarcely  be  hoped  for.  In  general  the 
language  is  simple,  pure,  and  elegant ;  and  both  the  spirit 
and  unction  of  the  original  are  excellently  preserved.  1 
therefore  made  no  scruple  to  adopt  it,  reserving  to  mysell 
the  liberty  to  correct  what  I  thought  amiss,  and  to  add 
such  notes  as  I  judged  necessary  to  the  fuller  elucidation 
of  the  work. 

As  some  judicious  friends  thought  the  original  work 
rather  too  concise,  and  hinted  that  several  useful  addi- 
tions might  be  made  to  it  on  the  same  plan,  I  was  natu- 
rally led  to  turn  to  Father  Lamy  for  materials,  whose 
work  above-mentioned  I  considered  as  ranking  next  to 


Preface.  b 

that  of  the  Mbc  Fleury.  From  Mr.  Bundy's  edition, 
much  of  the  fourth  part  of  the  present  volume  is  extract- 
ed. Those  points  which  I  suppose  the  Abbe  had  treated 
too  concisely  to  make  intelligible,  I  have  considered  more 
at  large  ;  and  some  subjects  of  importance,  which  he  had 
totally  omitted,  I  have  here  introduced.  To  the  whole  I 
have  added  a  copious  Index,  by  which  any  subject  discus- 
sed in  the  work  may  at  once  be  referred  to.  I  have  now 
reason  to  hope,  that  every  serious  Christian,  of  whatever 
denomination,  will  find  this  volume  a  faithful  and  pleasant 
guide  to  a  thorough  understanding  of  all  the  customs  and 
manners,  civil  and  religious,  of  that  people  to  whom  God 
originally  entrusted  the  sacred  Oracles.  Without  a  pro- 
per knowledge  of  these,  it  is  impossible  to  see  the  rea- 
sonableness and  excellency  of  that  worship,  and  those 
ceremonies,  which  God  himself  originally  established 
among  the  Israelites  ;  and  by  which  he  strongly  prefi- 
gured that  glorious  revelation  under  which  we  have  the 
happiness  to  live. 

The  late  excellent  Bishop  of  Norwich,  Dr.  Home,  re- 
commends this  work  in  the  following  terms.  "  This 
little  book  contains  a  concise,  pleasing,  and  just  account 
of  the  manners,  customs,  laws,  polity  and  religion  of  the 
Israelites.  It  is  an  excellent  introduction  to  the  reading 
of  the  Old  Testament,  and  should  be  put  into  the  bands 
of  every  young  person."  Discourses,  Vol.  I. 

This  recommendation  will  have  its  due  weight  both 
\vith  the  /corned  and  the  pious. 


1* 


ADVERTISEMENT, 

TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 


THE  former  edition  of  this  work  has  been  received  by 
the  British  public,  with  such  flattering  marks  of  appro- 
bation as  are  highly  honourable  to  the  memory  of  its 
excellent  author.  In  no  common  case  has  the  public 
opinion  been  more  correctly  formed,  nor  more  unequivo- 
cally expressed.  The  editor  too,  has  had  his  share  of  the 
public  approbation ;  and  takes  this  opportunity  of  acknow- 
ledging his  grateful  sense  of  the  praise  bestowed  on  his 
part  of  the  work.  Actuated  solely  by  the  desire  of  doing 
good  to  his  countrymen,  and  especially  to  the  plain  un- 
lettered Christian,  he  undertook  a  work  from  which 
he  neither  expected  nor  received  any  kind  of  emolu- 
ment. He  has,  however,  been  amply  rewarded  by  the 
satisfactory  consciousness  of  having  endeavoured  to  pro- 
mote the  study  of  those  living  oracles  which  testify  of 
Jesus,  and  the  conviction  that  his  labour  has  been  crowned 
with  success. 

When  he  found,  from  the  rapid  sale  of  the  first,  that  a 
second  edition  would  soon  be  called  for,  believing  the 
work  susceptible  of  still  farther  improvements,  and  con- 
sequently of  being  more  useful  to  the  public,  he  deter- 
mined  to  spare  no  pains  to  render  it  fully  worthy  of  that 
patronage,  by  which  it  has  been  already  so  highly  favour- 
ed. Having  now  accomplished  his  design,  as  far  as  cir- 
cumstances would  permit,  he  thinks  it  proper  to  inform 
the  reader  what  has  been  done,  in  order  to  furnish  him 
with  additional  pleasure  and  instruction. 


Advertisement.  7 

1.  The  translation  has  been  collated  with  three  copies 
of  the  original:  the  first  edition,  published  by  the  Abbe. 
Paris,  1681,  12mo.     The  Paris  edition  of  1736,  12mo. 
with  additional  references  ;  and  that  in  the  OPUSCULES 
de  M.  L'&bbe  FLEURY,  tome  I.  a  JV/'smes  1780,  5  vols. 
8vo.     This  collation  has  given  rise  to  innumerable  alter- 
ations and  improvements  of  the  translation. 

2.  The  references  not  only  to  the  Scriptures,  but  also 
to  the  Greek  and  Latin  writers,  have  been  collated  with 
the  authors  themselves,  and  a  multitude  of  errors  have 
been  corrected  which  had  been  increasing  with  every 
edition  of  the  work. 

3.  To  render  these  references  more  serviceable  to  the 
reader,  many  of  them  have  been  produced  at  full  length, 
accompanied  with  an  English  translation,  where  the  mat- 
ter appeared  to  be  of  considerable  importance. 

4.  A  great  variety  of  notes  have  been  added,  to  illus- 
ti-ate  and  confirm  what  is  advanced  in  the  text,  and  to 
make  the  meaning  more  easy  to  be  understood. 

5.  Some  supplementary  chapters  have  been  inserted, 
viz  :   0»  the  Hebrew  Poetry. — Instruments  of  Music  among 
the  ancient  Hebrews. — Hindoo  and  Mohammedan  fasts, 
purifications,  &c.  to  illustrate  those  of  the  ancient  Jews. 
— A  short  History  of  the  ancient  and  modern  Samaritans, 
which  was  certainly  a  desideratum  in  the  former  editions, 
together  with  a  short  sketch  of  the  present  state  of  the 
Jews,  and  a  copy  of  their  ancient  Liturgy. 

6.  To  the  work  a  Life  of  the  Author  is  prefixed,  which 
had  not  been  done  in  the  former  English  editions,  and 
which,  though  short,  will,  it  is  hoped,  serve  to  bring  the 
reader  more  particularly  acquainted  with  the  amiable 
spirit  of  this  excellent  man. 

On  the  whole,  the  editor  hopes  the  work  will  now  more 
effectually  answer  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  formed, 
viz.  to  render  the  study  of  the  Bible  improving  and  de- 
lightful ;  and  thus  especially  to  the  young  and  inexper 


3  Advertisement. 

rienced,  prove  an  antidote  against  deism,  irreligion  and 
impiety  of  all  sorts.  For,  he  thinks  it  would  be  impossi- 
ble even  for  a  prejudiced  mind  to  read  over  the  history  ol 
this  ancient  people,  and  compare  their  political  and  eccle- 
siastical state  with  that  of  any  other  nation  upon  earth, 
without  being  convinced,  that  they  had  statutes  and  judg- 
ments, such  as  no  other  people  could  boast  of,  and  such 
as  the  human  mind  could  never  have  devised  for  itself;  in 
short,  that  God  was  among  them  of  a  truth,  and  that  they 
were  the  people  of  his  pasture,  and  the  sheep  of  his  hand. 

N.  B.   The  notes  which  I  have  borrowed  from  Mr.  Farncwortb,  I 
hare  marked  with  E.  F. 


SHORT  ACCOUNT 

OF  THE  LIFE  AND  WRITINGS  OF  THE 

ABBE  FLEURY. 


THOSE  who  have  profited  by  the  works  of  the  learned 
and  pious,  naturally  wish  to  know  who  the  persons  were 
from  whom  they  have  received  so  much  instruction :  and 
are  glad  to  meet  with  any  account  of  lives,  which  they 
know  must  have  been  spent  not  only  innocently  but  use- 
fully. This  disposition  so  natural  to  man,  has  been  deep- 
ly studied  by  the  inspired  writers ;  hence  their  works 
abound  with  biography  and  biographical  anecdotes  ;  and 
thus  truth  teaches  not  only  by  precept,  but  also  by  exam- 
ple, and  hereby  seems  to  assume  a  body  and  render  itself 
palpable.  Of  the  Abbe  Floury  I  have  been  able  to  meet 
with  few  anecdotes  which  can  be  particularly  interesting 
to  the  pious  reader,  as  most  accounts  which  have  been 
hitherto  published  of  him  relate  chiefly  to  his  literary  his- 
tory. The  following  memoirs  which  I  have  collected 
from  the  most  authentic  sources,  are,  I  must  confess,  very 
scanty,  but  they  are  such  as  cannot  fail  to  give  some 
pleasure  to  those  who  are  admirers  of  the  immortal  work 
to  which  they  are  prefixed. 

Claude  Fleury,  in  Latin,  Claudius  Florus,  was  born  at 
Paris,  Dec.  6,  1640 ;  he  was  son  of  a  lawyer,  originally 
of  the  diocese  of  Rouen,  and  was  brought  up  to  the  bar. 
In  1658,  he  was  received  advocate  to  the  parliament  in 
Paris,  in  which  employment  he  continued  for  nine  years, 
••''voting  all  his  time  to  the  study  of  jurisprudence  and  the 


10  Short  account  of 

belles  lettres,  in  which  he  made  uncommon  proficiency 
This  kind  of  life  not  entirely  suiting  his  natural  inclina- 
tion, which  was  gentle,  peaceable  and  benevolent,  he 
abandoned  it,  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  theology, 
entered  into  the  ecclesiastical  state,  and  soon  arrived  at 
the  order  of  priesthood. 

From  this  time  he  devoted  himself  solely  to  the  study 
of  the  Sacred  Writings,  divinity,  ecclesiastical  history, 
the  canon  law,  and  the  works  of  the  fathers.  He  confi- 
ned himself,  for  a  considerable  time,  to  these  studies 
a/one,  from  a  persuasion  that  they  were  most  suitable  to 
his  clerical  functions,  and  that  a  more  extensive  range  in 
the  sciences,  by  diffusing  the  attention  too  much,  must 
tender  the  judgment  and  understanding  less  profound. 

His  deep  piety  and  solid  learning  gained  him  great 
reputation :  and  Lewis  XIV,  who  was  well  qualified  to 
discern  great  and  useful  talents,  and  well  knew  how  to 
employ  them,  made  him  preceptor  to  the  princes  of  Conti 
in  1762,  whom  he  caused  to  be  educated  with  the  Dauphin 
his  son.  These  princes  were,  Lewis  Jlrmand,  and  Francis 
Lewis,  son  of  Armand  de  Bourbon,  prince  of  Conti,  and 
chief  of  that  illustrious  family. 

The  fidelity  and  accuracy  with  which  this  amiable  man 
discharged  the  duties  of  his  office  in  this  important  busi- 
ness, procured  him  another  pupil  from  the  royal  family, 
for  in  1680,  the  king  made  him  preceptor  to  the  Prince 
de  Vermandois,  admiral  of  France  ;  one  of  his  legitimated 
natural  sons ;  but  this  prince  died  in  1683. 

In  1684,  the  king,  highly  pleased  with  his  fidelity  and 
success  in  the  office  of  preceptor  to  the  princes,  gave  him 
the  Abby  of  Loc-Dieu,  in  the  diocese  of  Rhodes  :  and  in 
1689,  he  appointed  him  subpreceptor  to  his  three  grand- 
children, Lewis,  duke  of  Burgundy ;  Philip,  duke  of  Jin- 
jou;  and  Charles,  duke  of  Berri,  sons  of  the  Dauphin. 
In  this  important  employment  he  was  associated  with 
;hat  most  accomplished  scholar  and  most  amiable  of  men 


the  Mbe  Fkury.  11 

•yiousr.  Fenelon,  afterward  archbishop  of  Cambray.  Like 
his  assistant,  the  Abbe  Fleury  had  the  happy  art  of  ren- 
dering virtue  amiable  by  connecting  delight  with  instruc- 
tion, and  of  making  the  precepts  of  religion  pleasant  by 
exemplifying  them  in  a  placid,  steady,  and  upright  con- 
duct. Thus  precept  and  example  went  hand  in  hand, 
and  mutually  supported  each  other.  Never  had  pupils 
greater  advantages ;  and  never  were  teachers  more  re- 
vered by  their  pupils.  Lewis,  duke  of  Burgundy,  be- 
came Dauphin,  April  14,  1711,  and  died  Feb.  18,  1712. 
Philip,  duke  of  Anjou,  became  king  of  Spain  in  1700. 
with  the  title  of  Philip  V. 

In  1696  the  French  Academy  chose  him  for  one  of  its 
40  members  :  the  highest  literary  honour  in  France.  A 
choice  due  to  the  merit  of  Abbe  Fleury,  and  which  was 
at  the  same  time  on  honour  to  the  Academy  itself. 

The  studies  of  the  three  princes  being  ended  in  1706. 
the  king,  who  knew  as  well  how  to  reward  merit  as  to 
distinguish  it,  presented  him  with  the  priory  of  A'ofov 
Dame  d'  Jlrgenteuil,  in  the  diocese  of  Paris  :  but  thi* 
learned  and  conscientious  man,  an  exact  observer  of  the 
canons,  (which  indeed  he  had  made  a  particular  object 
of  study)  gave  a  rare  example  of  disinterestedness  in  de- 
livering up  into  the  hands  of  the  king  the  Abby  of  Loc~ 
Dieu,  which  he  refused  to  hold  in  conjunction  with  his 
priory  !  An  example,  which  in  tha  present  day  we  may 
hope  in  vain  to  find,  as  sinecures  and  pluralities  are 
aought  after  with  an  extreme  avi-dity,  every  one  seeking 
his  gain  from  his  own  Quarter,  and  never  savinsr  in  hi? 
heart,  it  is  enough. 

In  1716  the  duke  ot  UrleaYis,  regent  ol  the  kingdom, 
made  him  Confessor  to  the  yormg  king,  Lewis  XV,  son  to 
the  duke  of  Burgundy.  In  this  important  employment 
he  continued  till  1722,  when  'his  age  and  infirmities  obli- 
ged him  to  give  it  up.  HacV  it  not  been  well  known  that 
the  Abbe  had  executed  tf'ie  office  of  ureceptor  to  the 


2  Short  account  of 

father  with  the  strictest  zeal  and  integrity,  we  may  rest 
assured  that  he  never  would  have  been  entrusted  with 
the  dearest. interests  of  the  son,  and  indeed  those  of  the 
whole  French  nation.  This  was  the  highest  eulogium 
that  could  possibly  be  given  of  the  merit  of  this  extraor- 
dinary man.  For  many  years  he  had  been  in  the  very 
high  road  to  preferment,  but  his  deadness  to  the  world 
induced  him  steadily  to  avoid  any  farther  advancement  ; 
find  being  completely  satisfied  with  his  priory,  he  refused 
to  have  any  thing  in  addition. 

Though  he  lived  in  the  midst  of  a  court  where  pleasure 
reigned,  and  rational  devotion  to  God  was  unfashionable  : 
yet  he  steadily  pursued  his  course,  and  lived  in  the  centre 
of  fashion  and  folly,  as  if  he  had  been  in  the  inmost  re- 
cesses of  a  cell,  constantly  refusing  the  slightest  compli- 
ance with  any  thing  that  was  not  conformed  to  the  purest 
principles  of  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

Having  spent  a  long  life  in  exemplary  piety,  and  labo- 
rious usefulness,  he  died  of  an  apoplexy  July  14,  1723,  in 
the  83d  year  of  his  age. 

On  his  death  several  of  the  academicians  signalized 
themselves  by  eulogiums  to  his  memory :  a  few  extracts 
from  which  will  show  in  what  estimation  he  was  held  by 
that  learned  body.  Mr.  Jldam,  who  was  chosen  to  suc- 
ceed him  in  the  academy,  speaks  of  him  in  the  following 
terms  in  his  inaugural  discourse,  delivered  before  that 
august  assembly,  Dec.  2,  1723. 

"  Where  shall  we  find  so  many  inestimable  qualities 
\mited  in  one  person  ?  An  excellent  understanding  cul- 
tivated with  intense  labour ;  profound  knowledge  ;  a  heart 
full  of  uprightness :  not  oniv  innocent  in  his  manners,  but 
leading  a  simple,  laborious  and  edifying  life,  always 
accompanied  with  sincere  modesty  :  an  admirable  dis- 
interestedness, an  unfailing:  regularity  of  conduct,  and 
perfect  fidelity  in  the  performance  of  his  duty ;  in  a 
word,  an  assemblage  of  all  \  those  talents  and  virtue? 


the  Mbe  Flewy.  18 

which  constitute  the  scholar,  the  honest  man  and  the 
Christian." 

In  answer  to  Mr.  Adam,  the  Mbe  de  Roquette  spoke 
of  this  great  man  in  the  same  high  strain  of  justly  me- 
rited panegyric.  "  We  shall  always  deplore  the  loss  of  our 
late  pious,  learned,  and  illustrious  associate.  Nothing 
can  obliterate  the  strong  impression  which  his  virtues 
have  made  on  our  minds.  Candour,  uprightness,  affa- 
bility, meekness,  and  strict  probity  seemed  to  constitute 
the  very  essence  of  his  soul.  Nature  had  lavished  her 
choicest  talents  on  his  mind ;  and  study  had  put  him  in 
possession  of  the  riches  of  knowledge.  In  him  a  solid 
judgment  was  combined  with  profound  penetration.  An 
exquisite  taste  in  every  department  of  literature,  with  a 
vast  and  retentive  memory  :  and  a  fertile  genius  with  an 
indefatigable  ardour  for  application.  To  these  gifts  of 
nature  let  us  add  those  which  he  received  from  grace : 
a  sincere  and  intelligent  piety  ;  an  ardent  and  insatiable 
thirst  after  truth ;  an  unbounded  love  to  mankind,  and  the 
most  scrupulous  fidelity  in  the  discharge  of  every  duty 
imposed  by  religion ;  a  contempt  of  honour,  and  detach- 
ment from  perishing  riches,  the  love  of  solitude  even  in 
the  midst  of  the  pomps  of  a  court ;  and  to  sum  up  the 
whole,  a  pure,  exemplary,  and  irreproachable  life."  Such 
truly  was  the  Abbe  Fleury,  and  such  the  serious  reader 
will  perceive  him  to  be  in  every  page  of  the  following 
inestimable  work. 

Besides  the  "Manners  of  the  Israelites,"  and  the 
••  Manners  of  the  primitive  Christians,"  the  Abbe  Fleury 
published  many  other  works,  the  principal  of  which  is  his 
Ecclesiastical  History,  20  vols.  12mo,  or  13  4to,  the  first 
volume  of  which  was  published  in  1691,  and  the  last  in 
1722 :  it  takes  in  the  history  of  the  church  from  the  birth 
of  our  Lord  to  the  year  1414.  The  author  designed  to  have 
brought  it  down  to  his  own  times,  but  was  prevented  by 
his  death,  which  took  place  the  following  year.  It  was  long 


Short  account  of 

well  received  by  the  public,  and  is  in  general  a  truly  excel- 
lent work,  but  it  is  now  become  almost  obsolete,  the  public 
having  decided  hi  favour  of  similar  works,  perhaps  a  little 
more  accurate  in  some  dates  and  facts,  but  much  less  spirit- 
ual, and  consequently  better  adapted  to  the  depraved  reign- 
ing taste  of  the  times .  His  Historical  Catechism,  published 
first  in  1683,  12mo,  is  also  a  very  valuable  work  :  it  has 
gone  through  various  editions,  and  has  been  translated 
into  several  languages.  All  his  smaller  works,  which 
contain  about  forty  different  treatises,  have  been  collect- 
ed into  5  vols.  8vo,  and  published  at  Nismes  1780,  un- 
der the  title,  Opuscules  de  M.  UAbbe  Prieur  d'ArgenteuiL 
et  confesseur  de  Roi  Louis  XV.  This  edition  was  printed 
to  accompany  a  new  edition  of  the  Ecclesiastical  History. 
published  at  the  same  place  in  25  vols.  8vo.  Great,  pious, 
and  useful  as  the  Abbe  Fleury  was  hi  his  life,  his  name 
would  have  long  since  been  extinct,  had  he  left  no  wri- 
tings behind  him :  by  these  his  memory  has  been  embalm- 
ed, and  his  fame  is  become  imperishable.  Every  new 
edition,  is,  so  to  speak,  a  resurrection  of  this  learned  and 
pious  man ;  and  by  the  diffusion  of  his  works,  he  who 
was  during  his  life  time  necessarily  confined  in  courts 
among-ftie  great,  becomes  introduced  to  every  department 
of  society,  teaching  piety  to  God  and  benevolence  to  men 
by  his  most  excellent  precepts  and  amiable  spirit.  It  is 
to  be  lamented  that  no  account  has  been  given  to  the  pub- 
lic of  the  religious  experience  of  this  eminent  man,  nor  of 
his  last  moments.  As  his  life  was  holy  and  useful  his  end 
must  have.been  peace  :  thus  far  we  may  safely  conjecture. 
The  testimonies  of  his  contemporaries  speak  much  for 
him ;  and  his  unspotted  life  confirms  all  that  his  warmest 
friends  have  said  of  his  sincere  and  unaffected  piety.  His 
religion  was  such  as  to  emit  a  steady  and  brilliant  light  in 
the  midst  of  a  court  which  at  that  time  had  attained  the 
acme  of  worldly  glory.  Yet  even  there  the  man  of  God 
was  distinguished,  and  all  were  obliged  to  own  that  the 


the  Mbe  Fleury.  16 

glory  of  that  kingdom  which  is  not  of  this  world,  infinite- 
ly exceeds  all  the  splendours  which  can  possibly  adorn 
the  most  illustrious  kingdoms  of  the  universe.  Reader, 
give  God  the  glory  due  to  his  name  for  the  light  which 
in  his  eternal  mercy  he  has  caused  to  shine  in  a  dark 
place,  as  a  testimony  to  his  power  and  goodness  :  and  let 
this  example  encourage  thee  to  confess  thy  Lord  amidst 
a  crooked  and  perverse  generation,  among  whom  if  thou 
be  not  wanting  to  thyself,  thou  mayest  shine  as  a  light  in 
the  world. 

Manchester,..  December  12,  1804. 


MANNERS  OF  THE  ISRAELITES. 


PART  I 

CHAPTER  I. 

The  Design  of  this  Treatise. 

THE  people,  whom  God  chose  to  preserve  the  true 
religion  till  the  promulgation  of  the  gospel,  are  an 
excellent  model  of  that  way  of  living,  which  is  most 
conformable  to  nature.  We  see  in  their  customs 
the  most  rational  method  of  subsisting,  employing 
one's  self,  and  living  in  society ;  and  from  thence 
may  learn,  not  only  lessons  of  morality,  but  rules  for 
our  conduct  both  in  public  and  private  life. 

Yet  these  customs  are  so  different  from  our  own, 
that  at  first  sight  they  offend  us.  We  do  not  see, 
among  the  Israelites,  those  titles  of  nobility,  that 
multitude  of  employments,  or  diversity  of  conditions, 
which  are  to  be  found  among  us.  They  are  only 
husbandmen  and  shepherds,  all  working  with  their 
own  hands,  all  married,  and  looking  upon  a  great 
number  of  children  as  the  most  valuable  blessing. 
The  distinction  of  meats,  of  clean  and  unclean  ani- 
mals, with  their  frequent  purifications,  seem  to  us  as 
so  many  troublesome  ceremonies  :  and  their  bloody 
sacrifices  quite  disgust  us.  We  observe,  moreover, 
that  these  people  were  prone  to  idolatry,  and,  for 
that  reason,  are  often  reproached  in  Scripture  for 
their  perverseness  and  hardness  of  heart ;  and,  by 
the  fathers  of  the  church,  for  being  stupid  and  car- 
nally minded.  All  thisr  joined  to  a  general  preju- 
dice, that  what  is  most  ancient  is  always  most  im- 
perfect, easily  influences  us  to  believe,  that  these  men 
2* 


18  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Parti. 

were  brutish  and  ignorant,  and  their  customs  more 
worthy  of  contempt  than  admiration.* 

And  this  is  one  reason  why  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
especially  those  of  the  Old  Testament,  are  so  much 
neglected,  or  read  to  so  little  purpose.  Several  well- 
meaning  people,  who  have  not  quite  got  over  such 
prejudices  are  discouraged  by  the  outward  appear- 
ance of  these  strange  customs  ;  and  either  impute 
the  whole,  without  distinction,  to  the  imperfection 
of  the  old  law ;  or  imagine,  that  some  mysteries,  be- 
yond their  comprehension,  are  concealed  under  these 
external  appearances.  Others,  for  want  of  faith,  or 
uprightness  of  heart,  are  tempted,  upon  such  preten- 
ces, to  despise  the  Scripture  itself,  as  full  of  mean 
and  trivial  matters ;  or  draw  wrong  conclusions  from 
it  to  countenance  their  own  vices. 

But,  upon  comparing  the  manners  of  the  Israelites 
with  those  of  the  Romans,  Greeks,  Egyptians,  and 
other  people  of  former  ages,  which  we  hold  in  the 
highest  veneration,  these  prejudices  soon  vanish. 
We  observe  a  noble  simplicity  in  them,  greatly  pre- 
ferable to  all  refinements  ;  that  the  Israelites  had 
every  thing  that  was  valuable  in  the  customs  of  their 
contemporaries,  without  many  of  their  defects,  and  a 
great  advantage  over  them  in  understanding  (what 
ought  to  be  our  chief  aim  in  this  life)  the  nature  of  thaf 
true  religion,  which  is  the  foundation  of  morality. 

We  must  learn  then  to  distinguish  what  is  only 
offensive  to  us  in  their  customs,  from  what  is  really 
blameworthy ;  what  we  do  not  like,  upon  account 
of  the  distance  of  times  and  places,  though  it  be  in 
itself  indifferent,  from  that  which,  being  good  in  it- 
self, displeases  us  for  no  other  reason,  than  because 

*  It  would  not  be  difficult  to  prove,  that  the  major  part,  if  not  thi 
tvhole  of  the  animals,  the  eating  of  whose  flesh  was  forbidden  under 
the  Mosaic  law,  are  unfit  for  the  purposes  of  nutrition.  Bloody  which 
is  so  often  and  so  solemnly  forbidden,  affords  a  most  gross  and  innu- 
tritive  aliment.  The  laws  relative  to  lepers  and  other  infected  per- 
sons, and  those  which  forbade  contact  with  dead  or  putrid  carcasses, 
were  wisely  ordered  to  prevent  the  reception  and  diffusion  of  conta- 
gion* Their  frequent  washings  and  bathings  also,  had  the  most  direci 
tendency  to  promote  health  and  ensure  a  long  and  comfortable  life. 


Ch.  l.J  Design  of  this  Treatise,  19 

we  are  corrupt  in  our  manners.  For,  most  of  the 
difference  betwixt  us  and  them  does  not  proceed 
from  our  being  more  enlightened  by  Christianity,  but 
from  our  being  less  guided  by  reason.  The  Chris- 
tian religion  did  not  introduce  this  great  inequality 
of  conditions,  this  disdain  of  labour,  this  eagerness 
for  diversions,  this  authority  of  women  and  young 
people,  this  aversion  from  a  simple  and  frugal  life, 
which  make  us  differ  so  much  from  the  ancients.  11 
would  have  been  much  easier  to  have  made  good 
Christians  of  those  shepherds  and  ploughmen,  which 
we  see  in  their  history,  than  of  our  courtiers,  law- 
yers, or  farmers  of  the  revenue,  and  many  others  that 
spend  their  lives  in  an  idle  and  discontented  poverty. 
Let  it  be  observed,  that  I  do  not  pretend  to  make 
a  panegyric  upon  this  people  ;  but  to  give  a  very 
plain  account,  like  that  of  travellers,  who  have  seen 
far  distant  countries  :  I  shall  describe  what  is  good, 
bad,  or  indifferent,  just  as  it  is,  and  only  desire  the 
reader  to  divest  himself  of  all  prejudice,  that  he  may 
j  utoe  of  these  customs  by  good  sense  and  right  rea- 
sdHTalone  ;  to  discard  the  ideas  that  are  peculiar  to 
his  own  age  and  country,  and  consider  the  Israelites 
in  the  circumstances  of  time  and  place  wherein  they 
lived ;  to  compare  them  with  their  nearest  neigh- 
bours, and  by  that  means  to  enter  into  their  spirit 
and  maxims.  We  must  indeed  be  entire  strangers 
to  history,  not  to  see  the  great  difference  which  dis- 
tance of  time  and  place  occasions  in  people's  man- 
ners. We  inhabit  the  same  country  which  the  an- 
cient Britons,  and  afterward  the  Romans,  dwelt  in  : 
and  yet  how  much  do  we  vary  from  both  in  their 
way  of  living  ;  nay,  even  from  that  of  our  own  coun- 
trymen, who  lived  seven  or  eight  hundred  years 
ago  ?*  And  at  present,  what  likeness  is  there  be- 

*  Who  would  imagine  that  the  present  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain, 
who  spend  so  much  time  and  money  in  unmeaning,  useless,  and  ridi- 
'•ulous  modes  of  dress,  are  the  descendants  of  a  race  of  people,  who, 
in  the  very  same  climate  and  land,  went  almost  naked,  not  only  du- 
ring the  scorching  heats  of  summer,  but  also  through  the  chilling  blasts 
of  winter  ?  And  yet,  were  more  healthy,  vigorous  and  robust  than 
their  present  degenerate  offspring. 


>0  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  1 

tween  our  customs  and  those  of  the  Turks,  Indians, 
and  Chinese  ?  If  then,  we  consider  these  two  sorts 
of  distance  together,  we  shall  be  so  far  from  being 
astonished,  that  they  who  lived  in  Palestine  three 
thousand  years  ago,  had  customs  different  from  ours, 
that  we  shall  rather  wonder  if  we  find  any  thing  in 
them  alike. 

We  must  not  imagine,  however,  that  these  chan- 
ges are  regular,  and  always  come  on  in  the  same 
space  of  time.  Countries  that  are  very  near  each 
other  often  differ  widely  in  their  religion  and  poli- 
tics ;  as,  at  this  day,  Spain  and  Africa,  which,  under 
the  Roman  empire,  had  the  same  customs.  On  the 
contrary,  there  is  now  a  great  resemblance  betwixt 
those  of  Spain  and  Germany,  though  there  was  then 
none.  The  same  holds  good  in  respect  to  the  dif- 
ference of  times.  They  that  are  not  acquainted  with 
history,  having  heard  it  said,  that  the  people  of  former 
ages  were  more  simple  than  we,  suppose  the  world 
is  always  growing  more  polite  ;  and  that  the  farther 
any  one  looks  back  into  antiquity,  the  more  staoid 
and  ignorant  he  will  find  mankind  to  have  been.^l 

But  it  is  not  really  so  in  countries  that  have  been 
inhabited  successively  by  different  people  :  the  revo- 
lutions that  have  happened  there  have  always,  from 
time  to  time,  introduced  misery  and  ignorance,  after 
prosperity  and  good  manners.  So,  Italy  is  now  in 
a  much  better  condition  than  it  was  eight  hundred 
years  ago.  But  eight  hundred  years  before  that, 
under  the  first  Caesars,  it  was  happier,  and  in  a  more 
prosperous  state  than  it  is  at  present.  It  is  true,  if 
we  go  back  eight  hundred  years  more,  near  the  time 
that  Rome  was  founded,  the  same  Italy  will  appear 
much  poorer  and  less  polished,  though  at  that  time 
very  populous :  and  still  the  higher  we  ascend,  it 
will  seem  more  wretched  and  uncultivated.  Nations 
have  their  periods  of  duration,  like  particular  men. 
The  most  flourishing  state  of  the  Greeks  was  under 
Alexander ;  of  the  Romans,  under  Augustus  ;  and  of 
the  Israelites,  under  Solomon. 


Chap.  II.]  Of  the  Patriarchs.  21 

We  ought  therefore  to  distinguish  in  every  peo- 
ple, ttafiir  beginning,  their  greatest  prosperity,  and  their 
declension.  In  this  manner  I  shall  consider  the  Is- 
raelites, during  all  that  space  of  time  that  they  were 
a  people,  from  the  calling  of  Abraham,  to  the  last 
destruction  of  Jerusalem.  It  contains  more  than 
two  thousand  years,  which  I  shall  divide  into  thret 
periods,  according  to  the  three  different  states  of  this 
people.  The  first  of  the  Patriarchs;  the  second  of 
the  Israelites,  from  their  going  out  of  Egypt  to  the 
Babylonish  captivity  ;  and  the  third,  of  the  Jews,  af- 
ter they  returned  from  captivity,  to  the  promulgation 
of  the  gospel. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Of  the  Patriarchs.* — Their  Nobility. 

THE  patriarchs  lived  after  a  noble  manner,  in  per- 
fect freedom  and  great  plenty,  notwithstanding  their 
wajrfFliving  was  plain  and  laborious.  Abraham  knen 
th^vhole  succession  of  his  ancestors,  and  no  way 
lessened  his  nobility,  since  he  married  into  his  own 
family.  He  took  care  to  provide  a  wife  of  the  same 
race  for  his  son,  in  whom  were  fulfilled  all  the  pro- 
mises that  God  had  made  to  him  :  and  Isaac  taught 
Jacob  to  observe  the  same  law. 

The  long  lives  of  the  fathers  gave  them  an  oppor- 
tunity of  educating  their  children  well,  and  of  making 
them  serious  and  considerate  betimes.  Abraham 

*  Patriarch,  from  the  Greek  irarpiapxijs,  which  literally  signifie.* 
the  chief  or  head  of  a  family.  The  term  is  applied  properly  to  the  pro- 
genitors of  the  Jewish  people,  and  especially  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob,  and  the  twelve  sons  of  the  latter.  The  patriarchal  government 
existed  in  the  fathers  of  families  and  their  first-born  sons  after  them, 
and  included  the  regal  and  sacerdotal  authority  ;  and  not  unfrequently 
the  prophetic.  This  authority,  which  every  first-born  son  exercised 
over  all  the  widely  extended  branches  of  a  numerous  family,  is  termed 
in  Scripture  the  birth-right.  The  patriarchal  dispensation  includes  all 
the  time  from  the  creation  of  the  world,  till  the  giving  of  the  law. 
The  patriarchs  are  divided  into  classes,  the  antediluvian  and  postdilu- 
vian :  to  the  former  belong  Adam,  Seth,  Enoch,  &c.  To  the  latter 
\bram,  Isaac,  Jacob,  &c. 


22  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Parti, 

lived  more  than  a  hundred  years  with  Shem,  and  no 
doubt  learned  from  him  the  state  of  the  world  before 
the  deluge.  He  never  left  his  father  Terah,  and 
was  at  least  seventy  years  old  when  he  lost  him. 
Isaac  was  seventy-five  when  Abraham  died,  and,  ag 
far  as  we  know,  never  went  from  him  all  that  time.* 
It  is  the  same  with  respect  to  the  other  patriarchs. 
Living  so  long  with  their  fathers,  they  had  the  bene- 
fit of  their  experience  and  inventions.  They  prose- 
cuted their  designs,  adhered  firmly  to  their  maxims, 
and  became  constant  and  uniform  in  their  conduct. 
For  it  was  a  difficult  matter  to  change  what  had 
been  settled  by  men  who  were  still  alive  ;  especially 
as  the  old  men  kept  up  their  authority,  not  only  over 
the  youth,  but  also  the  elders  that  were  not  so  old  as 
themselves. 

The  remembrance  of  things  past  might  be  easily 
preserved  by  the  bare  relation  of  old  men,  who  na- 
turally love  to  tell  stories  of  ancient  times,  and  had 
so  much  leisure  for  it.  By  this  means  they  had  no 
great  use  for  writing  ;  and  it  is  certain  we  fin^io 
mention  of  it  before  Moses.  However  difficulr  it 
may  seem  to  conceive  that  so  many  calculations  as 
he  recites  should  have  been  preserved  in  the  memo- 
ry of  men,  as  the  age  of  all  the  patriarchs  ;f  the 
exact  dates  of  the  beginning  and  end  of  the  flood  ;^ 
the  dimensions  of  the  ark,§  &c.  yet  there  is  no  ne- 
cessity for  recurring  to  miracle  and  revelation.  For 
it  is  probable  that  writing  was  found  out  before  the 
deluge  :  as  we  are  sure  musical  instruments  were, 
though  not  so  necessary.  ||  But  though  Moses  might 
have  learned,  in  the  common  way,  most  of  the  facts 
which  he  has  written,  I  believe,  nevertheless,  that 
he  was  influenced  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  record  these 

*  The  author  follows  here  the  chronology  of  archbishop  Usher,  who 
supposes  that  Shem  did  not  die  till  150  years  after  the  birth  of  Abra- 
ham. But  Usher  leaves  the  second  Cainan  out  of  his  chronology, 
whom  the  Septuagint  and  St.  Luke  place  between  Arphaxad  and  Sa- 
lah.  This  second  Cainan  throws  the  birth  of  Abraham  much  farther 
back. 

tGen.  vii,  11.  viii,  13.     §Gen.  vi,  15.     |]  Gen-  ir,21 


Ch.  II.  ]  Of  the  Patriarchs.  23 

facts,  rather  than  others,  and  express  them  in  terms 
most  proper  for  the  purpose. 

Besides,  the  patriarchs  took  care  to  preserve  the 
memory  of  considerable  events  by  setting  up  altars 
and  pillars,  and  other  lasting  monuments.  Thus, 
Abraham  erected  altars  in  the  different  places  where 
God  had  appeared  to  him.*  Jacob  consecrated  the 
stone  which  served  him  for  a  pillow  while  he  had  the 
mysterious  dream  of  the  ladder  ;f  and  the  heap  of 
stones,  which  was  witness  to  his  covenant  with 
Laban,  he  called  Galeed.J  Of  this  kind  was  the 
sepulchre  of  Rachel ;  the  well  called  Beersheba  ;§ 
and  all  the  other  wells  mentioned  in  the  history  of 
Isaac.  Sometimes  they  gave  new  names  to  places. 
The  Greeks  and  Romans  relate  the  same  of  their 
heroep,  the  eldest  of  whom  lived  near  the  times  of 
the  patriarchs.||  Greece  was  full  of  their  monu- 
ments :  ^Eneas,  to  mention  no  others,  left  some  in 
every  place  that  he  passed  through  in  Greece,  Sicily, 
and  Italy.  «f[ 

The  very  names  of  the  patriarchs  were  besides  a 
sorrof  more  simple  and  familiar  monuments.  They 
signified  some  remarkable  circumstance  of  their  birth, 
or  particular  favour  received  from  God.  So  they 
were  in  effect  a  short  history.**  For  they  took  care 
to  explain  the  reason  of  these  names  to  their  children, 
and  it  was  hardly  possible  to  pronounce  them  with- 

*  Gen.  xii,  8.  xiii,  18.  f  Gen.  xxviii,  18.  \  Gen.  xxxi,  48.  §  Gen. 
xxvi,  33.  ||  Pausan.  passim.  Dion.  Hal.  lib.  i.  IT  Virgil.  .(En.  passim. 

**  Such,  for  instance,  as  ABRAM  from  3X  ab>  &  father,  and  QI  ram, 
high  ;  called  afterward  Abraham  DJVUN  a  father  of  multitudes,  the 
H  being  inserted  before  Q  ;  for  on  nam»  >s  a  contraction  of  pnn 
hamon,  a  multitude. 

PELEG,  from  3*73  palag,  he  divided:  for  in  his  days,  says  the  exl, 
Gen.  x,  25,  the  earth  (niSflJ  nipilegah)  was  divided. 

MANASSES,  the  son  of  Joseph,  signifies  forgetting,  from  n^i  nashab, 
he  was  forgetful,  for  said  he,  Gen.  xli,  51,  God  hath  made  me  forget 
('3K?3  nashshani)  all  my  labours,  and  my  father's  house. 

EPHRAIM,  fruitful,  from  ni3  pharah,  he  was  fruitful;  for  said  Jo- 
seph his  father,  'j-)3n  Hiphrani,  God  hath  made  me  fruitful  in  the  land 
of  my  affliction.  Gen.  xli,  52. 

JOSEPH,  addition  or  increase,  from  rp^  Yasaph,  he  added  or  increa- 
sed; because  said  his  mother  niTT  HOV  Yoseph  Jehovah,  tkt  Lord 
shall  add  to  me  another  son.  Gen.  XXK,  25. 


34  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Parti. 

out  refreshing  the  mempry  with  it.  This  care  for 
posterity,  and  providence  for  the  future,  was  an  ar- 
gument of  true  generosity  and  greatness  of  mind. 

The  patriarchs  enjoyed  perfect  freedom,  and  their 
family  was  a  little  state,  of  which  the  father  was,  in 
manner,  king.  For  what  did  Abraham  want  of  the 
power  of  sovereigns,  but  their  vain  titles  and  incon- 
venient ceremonies  ?  He  was  subject  to  nobody  ; 
kings  concluded  alliances  with  him  :  he  made  war 
and  peace  when  he  pleased.  Princes  sought  the 
alliance  of  Isaac.*  Ishmael,  Jacob,  and  Esau,  were 
likewise  independent.  We  must  not  then  suffer  our- 
selves to  be  misled  by  names,  nor  think  Abraham  in- 
ferior to  Amraphel  or  Abimelech,  because  the  Scrip- 
ture does  not  call  him  king  as  well  as  them.  He  was 
certainly  equal  to  one  of  those  four  kings,  whom  he 
defeated  with  his  domestic  forces,  and  the  assistance 
of  his  three  allies. f  The  greatest  difference  was, 
that  he  did  not  shut  himself  up  within  walls  as  they 
did,  and  that  his  whole  family  followed  him  to  any 
place  whither  he  had  a  mind  to  move  his  tents.  All 
authentic  history  testifies  that  kingdoms  were  very 
small,  even  in  the  east,  at  that  time  of  day  ;  and  we 
find  them  so  in  other  countries  a  great  while  after. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Their  Riches  and  Employments. 

THE  riches  of  the  patriarchs  consisted  chiefly  in 
cattle.  Abraham  must  have  had  a  vast  stock,  when 
he  was  obliged  to  part  from  his  nephew  Lot,  because 
the  land  ivas  not  able  to  bear  them  together.  J  Jacob 
had  a  great  number  when  he  came  back  from  Me- 
sopotamia ;  since  the  present  that  he  made  to  his 
brother  Esau  was  Jive  hundred  and  eighty  head  of 
different  sorts. §  From  which  we  may  likewise  learn 

"  Gen.  xxvi,  26,  28.     f  Gen.xiv,  14, 15.   {Gen.  xiii,  6,     §  Gen.  xxxii, 
13,  15. 


Ch.  III.]         Riches  and  Employments.  25 

what  sort  of  beasts  they  bred,  viz.  goats,  sheep,  ca- 
mels, horned  cattle,  and  asses.  There  were  no  horses 
nor  swine  among  them.  It  was  such  plenty  of  cattle 
which  made  them  set  so^  great  a  value  upon  wells  and 
cisterns,  in  a  country  where  there  was  no  river  but 
Jordan,  and  rain  very  seldom. 

They  had  slaves  too  :  and  Abraham  must  have  had 
an  abundance  of  them,  since  he  armed  three  hundred 
and  eighteen  men  of  those  that  were  born  in  his  house 
and  trained  up  by  himself.*  In  proportion,  he  must 
have  had  plenty  of  children,  old  men,  women,  and 
slaves  that  were  bought  with  money.  When  he  re- 
turned from  Egypt,  it  is  said  he  was  rich  in  gold  and 
silver,  f  The  bracelets  and  earrings,  which  his  ser- 
vant Eliezer  made  a  present  of  to  Rebecca  from  his 
master,  weighed  six  ounces  of  gold  ;  J:  and  the  pur- 
chase of  his  burying-place  shows  that  money  was  in 
use  at  that  time.§  We  see  likewise  that  perfumes 
and  costly  raiment  were  made  use  of  ||  by  Esau's 
clothes,  which  Jacob  wore  to  obtain  his  father's 
blessing. 

With  all  their  riches  they  were  very  laborious, 
always  in  the  field,  lying  under  tents,  shifting  their 
abode  according  to  the  convenience  of  pasture,  and 
consequently  often  taken  up  with  encamping  and  de- 
camping, and  frequently  upon  the  march  :  for  they 
could  make  but  short  days'  journies  with  so  nume- 
rous an  attendance.  Not  but  that  they  might  have 
built  towns  as  well  as  their  countrymen :  but  they 
chose  this  way  of  living.  It  is  without  doubt  the 
most  ancient,  since  it  is  easier  to  set  up  tents  than 
to  build  houses  ;  and  has  always  been  reckoned  the 
most  perfect,  as  attaching  men  less  to  this  world. 
Thus  the  condition  of  the  patriarchs  is  best  repre- 
sented, who  lived  here  only  as  sojourners  waiting 

*Gen.xiv,  14.     fGen-xi",2-     |  Gen.  xxiv,  22.     §  Gen.  xxiii,  16. 

II  Gen.  xxvii.  27.  But  does  not  this  rather  intimate  that  odorife- 
rous plants  or  herbs,  were  laid  up  with  the  clothes  in  the  chests  or 
coffers  where  they  were  kept  ?  A  custom  that  prevails  among  the  in? 
habitants  of  some  countries  to  the  present  day. 

3 


26  .Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Parti. 

for  the  promises  of  God,*  which  were  not  to  be  ac- 
complished till  after  their  death.  The  first  cities 
that  are  mentioned  were  built  by  wicked  men.f 
Cain  and  Nimrod  were  the  first  that  erected  walls 
and  fortifications  to  secure  themselves  from  the  pun- 
ishment due  to  their  crimes,  and  to  give  them  an 
opportunity  of  committing  fresh  ones  with  impuni- 
ty. %  Good  men  lived  in  the  open  air,  having  nothing 
to  make  them  afraid. 

The  chief  employment  of  the  patriarchs  was  the 
care  of  their  cattle  :  their  whole  history  shows  it, 
and  the  plain  account  which  the  sons  of  Jacob  gave 
of  themselves  to  the  king  of  Egypt. §  Though  hus- 
bandry be  very  ancient,  the  pastoral  life  is  the  more 
perfect.  The  first  was  the  lot  of  Cain,  the  brother 
of  Abel.  ||  It  has  something  in  it  more  simple  and 
noble  ;  it  is  laborious,  attaches  one  less  to  the  world, 
and  yet  more  profitable.  The  elder  Cato**  prefer- 
red a  stock  of  cattle,  though  but  a  moderate  one,  to 
tillage,  which  yet  he  thought  better  than  any  other 
way  of  improving  his  fortune. 

The  just  reprimand  which  Jacob  gave  to  Laban, 
shows  that  the  patriarchs  laboured  hard  at  their 
work,  and  did  at  no  time  neglect  it :  /  have  served 
Ihee  twenty  years,  says  he,  in  the  day  the  drought  con- 
sumed me,  and  the  frost  by  night,  and  my  sleep  departed 
from  mine  et/es.ft  One  may  judge  of  the  men's  la- 
borious way  of  living  by  that  of  the  young  women. 
Rebecca  came  a  good  way  off  to  draw  water,  and 
carried  it  upon  her  shoulders  ;  J  J  and  Rachel  herself 
kept  her  father's  flock.  §§  Neither  their  nobility  nor 
beauty  made  them  so  delicate  as  to  scruple  it.  This 
primeval  simplicity  was  long  retained  amongst  the 
Greeks,  whose  good  breeding  we  yet  admire  with  so 
much  reason.  Homer  affords  us  examples  of  it 
throughout  his  works,  and  pastorals  have  no  other 
foundation.  It  is  certain  that  in  Syria,  Greece,  and 

*  Heb.  xi,  9,  13.  f  Gen.  iv,  17.  {  Gen.  x,  10.  §  Gen.  xlvii,  3. 
||  Gen.  iv,  2.  **  De  Re  Rustic,  in  Init.  ft  Gen.  XXXK  40.  ft  Gen. 
xxiv,  15.  §§  Gen.  xxix,  9. 


Ch.  IV.]  Their  Frugality. 

Sicily,  there  were  persons  of  eminence  who  made 
it  their  sole  occupation  to  breed  cattle  for  more 
than  one  thousand  Jive  hundred  years  after  the  pa- 
triarchs ;  and  who,  in  the  great  leisure  that  sort  of 
life  afforded,  and  the  good  humour  those  delightful 
countries  inspired  them  with,  composed  several  lit- 
tle pieces  of  poetry,  still  extant,  of  inimitable  beauty 
and  simplicity. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Their  Frugality. 

THE  patriarchs  were  not  at  all  nice  in  their  eating 
or  other  necessaries  of  life  ;  one  may  judge  of  their 
common  food  by  the  pottage  of  lentiles  that  Jacob 
had  prepared,  which  tempted  Esau  to  sell  his  birth- 
right.* But  we  have  an  instance  of  a  splendid  en- 
tertainment in  that  which  Abraham  made  for  the 
three  angels,  f  He  set  a  calf  before  them,  new  bread, 
but  baked  upon  the  hearth  ;  together  with  butter  and 
milk.  It  seems  they  had  some  sort  of  made  dishes,  by 
that  which  Rebecca  cooked  for  Isaac  :  but  his  great 
age  may  excuse  this  delicacy.  This  dish  was  made 
of  two  kids,  $  Abraham  dressed  a  whole  calf  for  the 
angels,  and  three  measures  of  meal  made  into  bread4 
which  conies  to  more  than  two  of  our  bushels,  and 
nearly  to  fifty -six  pounds  of  our  weight.  Whence  we 
may  conclude  they  were  great  eaters,  used  much  ex- 
ercise, and  were  perhaps  of  a  larger  stature  as  welj 
as  longer  lives  than  we.  The  Greeks  seem  to  think 
that  the  men  of  the  heroic  ages  were  of  great 
stature ;  and  Homer  makes  them  great  eaters. 
When  Eumaeus§  entertained  Ulysses,  he  dressed  two 
pigs,  probably  young  ones,  for  himself  and  his  guest ; 
and  on  another  occasion,  a  hog  of  five  years  old  for 
five  persons. 

*  Gen.  xxv,  29,  34.  |  Gen.1  xviii,  6.  t  Gen.  xxvii,  9.  §  Odyss. 
xiv,  1  74.  Ib.  1.  419 


38  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  I. 

Homer's  heroes  wait  upon  themselves  in  the  com- 
mon occasions  of  life  ;  and  we  see  the  patriarchs  do 
the  same.  Abraham,  who  had  so  many  servants, 
and  was  nearly  a  hundred  years  old,  brings  the  wa- 
ter himself  to  wash  the  feet  of  his  divine  guests,  bids 
his  wife  make  the  bread  quickly,  goes  himself  to 
choose  the  meat,  and  comes  again  to  serve  them 
standing.*  I  will  allow  that  he  was  animated  upon 
this  occasion  with  a  desire  of  showing  hospitality  ; 
but  all  the  rest  of  their  lives  is  of  a  piece  with  it. 
Their  servants  were  to  assist  them,  but  not  so  as  to 
exempt  them  from  working  themselves.  In  fact. 
who  could  have  obliged  Jacob,  when  he  went  into 
Mesopotamia,  to  travel  a  journey  of  more  than  two 
hundred  leagues  (for  it  was  at  least  so  far  from  Beer- 
sheba  to  Haran)  alone  and  on  foot,  with  only  a  stall' 
in  his  hand  ?f  what,  I  say,  could  oblige  him  to  it 
but  his  own  commendable  plainness  and  love  of  toil  ? 
Thus  he  rests  where  night  overtakes  him,  and  lays  a 
stone  under  his  head  instead  of  a  pillow.  And  al- 
though he  was  so  tenderly  fond  of  Joseph,  he  does  not 
scruple  sending  him  alone  from  Hebron  to  seek  his 
brethren  at  Sichem,  which  was  a  long  day's  jour- 
ney ;  and  when  Joseph  does  not  find  them  there,  he 
goes  on  to  Dothan,  more  than  a  day's  journey  far- 
ther,]: and  all  this  when  he  was  but  sixteen  years 
old. 

It  was  this  plain  and  laborious  way  of  life,  no 
doubt,  that  made  them  attain  to  such  a  great  old  age, 
and  die  so  calmly.  Both  Abraham  and  Isaac  lived 
nearly  two  hundred  years.  The  other  patriarchs, 
whose  age  is  come  to  our  knowledge,  exceeded  a 
hundred  at  least,  and  we  do  not  hear  that  they  were 
ever  sick  during  so  long  a  life.  He  gave  up  the  ghost, 
and  died  in  a  good  old  age,  full  of  days,  is  the  manner 
in  which  the  Scripture  describes  their  death. §  The 
first  time  we  read  of  physicians  is,  when  it  is  said,  that 
Joseph  commanded  his  domestics  to  embalm  thf 

*  Gen.  xyiii,  4.     f  Gen.  xxxii,  10.     1  Gen.  xxxvii,  15,  \J.    §  Ger, 
wv.  8. 


Ch.  IV.]  Tlieir  Frugality.  29 

body  of  his  father.*  This  was  in  Egypt ;  and  many 
have  ascribed  the  invention  of  physic  to  the  Egyp- 
tians, f 

The  moderation  of  the  patriarchs  with  regard  to 
wives  is  no  less  to  be  admired,  when  we  consider,  1st. 
they  were  allowed  to  have  several ;  and,  2dly,  their 
desire  of  a  numerous  posterity.  Abraham,  whom 
God  had  promised  to  make  the  father  of  an  innume- 
rable people,  though  he  had  a  barren  wife,  was  so  far 
from  thinking  of  taking  another,  that  he  had  made  a 
resolution  of  leaving  his  substance  to  the  steward  of 
his  house. |  He  did  not  take  a  second  till  he  was 
eighty-six  years  old,  and  it  was  his  own  wife  who  gave 
her  to  him.§  We  must  not  say  that  he  was  still 
young  with  respect  to  his  life,  which  was  a  hundred 
seventy-five  years  long  ;  because  thirteen  years  after, 
he  and  Sarah,  who  was  ten  years  younger,  are  called 
old,  and  laughed  at  it  as  an  incredible  thing,  when 
God  promised  them  a  son.  ||  As  old  as  Abraham 
was,  and  as  desirous,  as  we  may  suppose  him,  to  see 
the  children  of  Isaac,  he  did  not  marry  him  till  he 
was  forty  years  old  ;**  and  though  Rebecca  had  no 
child  for  twenty  years,  and  never  but  two,  and  those 
at  one  birth,ft  Isaac  had  no  other  wife. 

It  is  true,  Jacob  had  two  wives  at  the  same  time, 
and  as  many  concubines  ;  but  it  is  fit  we  should  con- 
sider the  reason  of  it.  He  staid  till  he  was  seventy - 
seven  with  his  father,  waiting  for  the  important  bless- 
ing which  he  had  a  right  to  by  the  resignation  of  his 
brother :  at  that  age  he  thought  of  marrying,  and 
asked  for  Rachel,  but  did  not  obtain  her  till  he  had 
served  seven  years.  J:}:  At  last  then  he  married  at 

*  Gen.  I,  2.     f  Aug.  de  Civ.  Dei.  xvi,  25.     }  Gen.  xv,  2. 

§  Gen.  xvi,  2.  The  handmaids,  as  they  are  termed,  were  a  sort  of 
slaves,  one  of  which  was  usually  given  by  a  father  to  his  daughter  on 
her  marriage :  hence  they  were  considered  the  unalienable  property 
of  their  mistresses,  who  claimed  not  only  the  fruit  of  their  labour, 
but  also  the  very  children  they  bore.  See  above,  and  also  chap,  xxix, 
24,  29. 

||  Gen.  xviii.  11.  **  Gen.  xxv,  20.  ft  Gen.  xxv,  21,  &c.  ff  Gen. 
xxiv.  90 

3* 


30  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part.  L 

eighty-four*  They  gave  him  Leah  against  his  will, 
and  he  kept  her,  that  she  might  not  be  disgraced. 
But  as  he  might  have  more  wives  than  one,  or  mar- 
ry two  sisters,  without  the  breach  of  any  law 
then  existing,  he  took  her  too  that  he  had  first  enga- 
ged to  wed.f  When  she  found  herself  barren,  she 
gave  her  husband  a  handmaid  to  have  children  by 
her.  This  was  a  sort  of  adoption  practised  at  thai 
time :  and  her  sister  did  the  same,  that  the  family 
might  be  increased.  From  all  which  St.  Augustin 
draws  this  conclusion :  We  do  not  read  that  Jacob 
desired  any  more  than  one  wife,  or  made  use  of 
more,  without  strictly  observing  the  rules  of  conjugal 
chastity.  |  We  must  not  imagine  he  had  other 
wives  before  ;  for  why  should  the  last  only  be 
mentioned  ? 

And  yet  I  do  not  undertake  to  justify  all  the  pa- 
friarchs  in  this  point.  The  story  of  Judah  and  his 
sons  affords  but  too  many  examples  of  the  contra- 
ry^ I  would  only  show  that  we  cannot,  with  jus- 
tice, accuse  those  of  incontinence  whom  the  Scrip- 
ture reckons  holy.  For  with  regard  to  the  rest  oi 
mankind  they  were  from  that  time  very  much  cor- 
rupted. Such  then,  in  general,  was  the  first  state 
of  God's  people.  An  entire  freedom,  without  any 
government  but  that  of  a  father,  who  was  an  abso- 
lute monarch  in  his  own  family.  A  life  very  natu- 
ral and  easy,  through  a  great  abundance  of  necessa- 
ries, and  an  utter  contempt  of  superfluities  ;  through 
an  honest  labour,  accompanied  with  care  and  fru- 
gality, without  anxiety  or  ambition. 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  the  second  period :  which  is, 
that  of  the  Israelites,  from  their  coming  out  of  Egypt 

*  When  Joseph  appeared  before  Pharaoh  he  was  thirty  years  of  age. 
Gen.  xli,  46,  at  which  time  his  father  was  121  ;  for  when  he  appear- 
ed before  Pharaoh  he  was  130  years  old,  Gen.  xlvii,  9,  and  nine  years 
had  elapsed  from  the  time  Joseph  was  presented  to  Pharaoh  till  the 
time  that  Jacob  and  his  family  came  into  Egypt,  viz.  seven  years  of 
plenty  and  two  of  famine  ;  consequently  Jacob  was  ninety-one  year0 
old  when  Joseph  was  born.  August,  de  civit.  Dei.  lib.  xviii,  c.  4. 

t  Gen.  xxix,  30.    I  De  Civ.  Dei.  xvi,  25,  33.     §  Gen.  xxxviii 


Oh.  I.]  Their  Nobility.  31 

to  the  Babylonish  captivity.  It  lasted  more  than 
nine  hundred  years,  and  most  of  the  Sacred  Writings 
relate  to  it. 


PART  II. 

CHAPTER  I. 

The  Israelites. —Their  Nobility. 

THOUGH  the  people  were  already  very  nume- 
rous, they  were  still  called  the  children  of  Israel,  as 
if  they  had  been  but  one  family ;  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  they  said,  the  children  of  Edom,  the  children 
ofMoab,  &c.  Indeed  all  these  people  were  still  dis- 
tinct :  they  knew  their  own  origin,  and  took  a  pride 
in  preserving  the  name  of  their  author.  Thence 
probably  it  comes  that  the  name  of  children  signified, 
with  the  ancients,  a  nation,  or  certain  sort  of  people . 
Homer  often  says,  the  children  of  the  Greeks,  and  the 
children  of  the  Trojans.  The  Greeks  used  to  say, 
the  children  of  the  physicians,  and  grammarians.  With 
the  Hebrews,  the  children  of  the  east,  are  the  eastern 
people  ;  the  children  of  Belial,  the  wicked  ;  the  chil- 
dren of  men,  or  Adam,  mankind.  And  in  the  gospel 
we  often  see,  the  children  of  this  world — of  darkness, 
and  of  light — and  also,  the  children  of  the  bridegroom, 
for  those  that  go  along  with  him  to  his  wedding. 

The  Israelites  were  divided  into  twelve  tribes/' 
There  was  the  same  number  of  the  Ishmaelites,f  and 
as  many  of  the  Persians.  |  The  people  of  Athens 
were  at  first  composed  of  four  tribes,  afterward  divi- 
ded into  ten,  to  which  they  gave  the  names  often  he- 
roes, who  for  this  reason  were  called  Eponymi,  and 
whose  statues  were  set  up  in  the  public  exchange. § 
The  Roman  people  were  also  distributed  into  three 
or  four  tribes,  which  increased  to  thirty-Jive.  The 

*  Gen.  xlix,  1 — 28.  fGen.  xxv,  13 — 16.  JXenoph.  Cyrop.  p.  u 
Edit.  Steph.  1581.  §Demosth.  in  Timocr.  in  Leptin.  et  ibi  Ulpian 

.EfWH'fO/,  HpUlff, 


32  Manners  of  the  Israelites. 

ilanies  of  them  are  still  upon  record.  But  these 
Athenian  and  Roman  tribes  were  made  up  of  differ- 
ent families,  collected  together  to  keep  order  in  their 
assemblies  and  elections  :  whereas,  those  of  the  Is- 
raelites were  naturally  distinct,  and  were  only  twelve 
large  families,  descended  from  twelve  brothers. 

They  were  very  exact  in  keeping  their  genealo- 
gies, and  knew  all  the  succession  of  their  ancestors, 
as  high  as  the  patriarch  of  their  tribe,  from  whom  it 
is  easy  going  back  to  the  first  man.  Thus  they  were 
really  brethren,  that  is  to  say,  kinsmen,  according  to 
the  eastern  language,  and  of  genuine  nobility,  if  ever 
there  was  such  a  thing  in  the  world. 

They  had  preserved  the  purity  of  their  families. 
by  taking  care,  as  their  fathers  did,  not  to  marry  with 
the  nations  descended  from  Canaan,  who  were  un- 
der a  curse.*  For  we  do  not  find  that  the  patri- 
archs avoided  matches  with  any  other  people,  or 
that  they  were  expressly  forbidden  by  the  law  to 
marry  with  them.  Their  families  were  fixed  and  at- 
tached by  the  same  law  to  certain  lands,  on  which 
they  were  obliged  to  live,  during  the  space  of  the 
nine  hundred  years  I  have  mentioned.  Should  we 
not  esteem  that  family  very  noble  indeed,  that  could 
show  as  long  a  succession  of  generations,  without 
any  disgraceful  weddings  in  it,  or  change  of  man 
<ion  ?  Few  noblemen  in  Europe  can  prove  so  much. 

What  deceives  us  in  this  respect  is,  our  not  seeing 
iitles  among  the  Israelites  like  those  of  our  nobility. 
Every  one  was  called  plainly  by  his  own  name  ;  but 
their  names  signified  great  things,  as  those  of  the 
patriarchs.  The  name  of  God  was  part  of  most ; 
which  was  in  a  manner  a  short  prayer.  Elijah  and 
Joel  are  made  up  of  two  of  God's  names  joined  in  a 
different  way  :f  Jehosaphat  and  Sephatiah  signify 

*  Exod.  xxxiv,  16.  Dent,  vii,  3. 

f  ELIJAH,  in  Hebrew  irr^Ni  a  contraction  of  xin  J"P  ^X  Jtkovah 
lie  is  my  strong  God. 

JOEL  ^KV  signifies  willing  or  acquiescing,  from  ^x1  yaal>  h*  willed. 
ond  is  not  compounded  of  TV  yah,  Jehovah  ;  and  'jx  El,  the  strong 
<iod,  RS  the  Abbe  seems  to  have  supposed. 


Ch.  I.]  Their  Nobility.  33 

the  judgment  of  God  :  Jehozadak  and  Zedekiah,  his 
justice  :  Johanan,  or  John,  the  son  of  Hananiah,  his 
mercy  :  Nathanael,  Elnathan,  Jonathan,  and  Netha- 
niah,  all  four  signify,  God  given,  or  the  gift  of  God. 
Sometimes  the  name  of  God  was  understood,  as  in 
Nathan,  David,  Obed,  Uzzah,  Ezra  or  Esdras  :  as  is 
plain  by  Eliezer,  God  my  helper :  Uzziel,  God  my 
strength :  and  Obadiah,  the  Lord's  servant :  where  it  is 
expressed.  Some  of  their  names  were  mysterious  and 
prophetical,  as  that  of  Joshua  or  Jesus,  Saviour,  and 
those  which  Hosea  and  Isaiah  gave  their  children  by 
the  order  of  God.*  Other  names  showed  the  piet\ 
of  their  fathers  ;  and  we  may  see  instances  of  it  in. 
the  names  of  David's  brethren  and  children. f 

Such  are  the  names  which  appear  so  barbarous 
to  us  for  want  of  understanding  the  Hebrew  tongue. 
Are  they  not  full  as  significant  as  those  of  castles 
and  towns,  which  our  nobility  assume  ?  The  Greek 
names,  whose  sound  we  are  so  fond  of,  are  of  the 
same  import.  Many  are  composed  of  the  names  ot 
their  gods  ;  as  Diodorus,  Diogenes,  Hermodorus,  He- 
ph&stion,  Jlthenais,  Artemisia.  But  several  are  derived 
from  their  love  of  exercise,  particularly  of  riding,  as 
Philip,  Damasippus,  or  Hippodamus,  Hegesippus,  Hip- 
pomedon,  &c.| 

They  often  added  the  father's  name,  either  for 
distinction  or  respect's  sake,  to  show  that  the  father 
was  a  man  of  renown  :  perhaps  Solomon  had  this 
custom  in  his  eye,  when  he  said,  the,  glory  of  children 
are  their  fathers.  §  Thus  we  see  in  Homer,  that  the 
Greeks  took  the  paternal  name  for  a  mark  of  ho- 
nour. ||  Sometimes  the  mother's  name  was  given 

*  Hosea  i,  4.  Isaiah  viii,  3.     fl  Chron.  ii,  13,  and  iii.  1. 

t  DIODORUS,  rm  <5toj  Supov,  the  gift  of  Jupiter.  DIOGENES,  yrvo?  TO; 
-"(os,  born  of  Jupiter.  HERMODORDS,  from  Epptis  and  Swpov,  the  gift  cj 
Jtfercurj.  HEPH^ESTION,  Vulcan.  ATHENAIS,  Minerva.  ARTEMISIA, 
Diana.  PHILIPPUS,  a  lover  of  horses.  DAMASIPPUS,  HIPPOMEDOX, 
HIPPODAMCS,  a  tamer  of  horses.  HEGESIPPUS,  chief  or  captain  ofh.ors<t 

§  Prov.  xvii.  6. 

!|  narpoOev  cic  ytveijs  ovopafrv  avSpa  txaarov.      Iliad  X,  0* 

•'  Call  every  single  person  by  his  name. 

\n<\  add  the  father's  name  to  grace  the  son's," 


34  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II. 

for  the  surname  ;  as  when  the  father  had  many  wives, 
or  when  the  mother  was  of  the  better  family.  So 
Joab  and  his  brethren  are  always  called  the  sons  of 
Zeruiah,  who  was  David's  sister.*  If  the  name  of 
the  father  was  not  distinction  enough,  they  added 
the  grandfather's  as  Gedaliah  the  son  of  Jlhikam,  the 
son  of  Shaphan.i[  And  this  is  the  reason  of  so  many 
names  that  appear  tiresome  to  us  :  for  they  went 
sometimes  as  high  as  the  great-grandfather,  or  high- 
er. Sometimes  a  surname  was  taken  from  the  head 
of  a  particular  branch,  from  a  town,  a  country,  or  a 
nation,  if  they  were  originally  strangers  ;  as  Uriah 
the-Hittite,  Araunah  the  Jebuzite. 

The  Greeks  had  no  surnames  but  what  they  took 
from  their  father  or  country.  The  Romans  had 
family  names,  to  which  they  only  added  the  distinc- 
tion of  some  great  office  or  remarkable  victory  ;  but 
in  deeds,  they  always  set  down  the  father's  name. 
Many  of  the  European  nations  still  retain  the  same 
custom  ;  and  most  of  our  surnames  come  from  the 
proper  names  of  the  fathers,  which  have  remained 
with  their  children.  As  to  the  titles  of  lordships, 
they  are  not  above  seven  or  eight  hundred  years  old, 
no  more  than  the  lordships  themselves.  We  must 
not  be  surprised  to  see  in  Scripture,  David  the  son  of 
Jesse,  and  Solomon  the  son  of  David,  any  more  than 
Alexander  the  son  of  Philip,  and  Ptolemy  the  son  of 
Legus,  in  Greek  authors. 

The  principal  distinction  that  birth  occasioned 
among  the  Israelites,  was  that  of  the  Levites  and 
priests.  The  whole  tribe  of  Levi  was  dedicated  to 
God,  and  had  no  inheritance  but  the  tenths  and  the 
firstfruits,  which  it  received  from  the  other  tribes. 
Of  all  the  Levites,  the  descendants  of  Aaron  only 
were  priests  ;  the  rest  were  employed  in  the  other 
functions  of  religion  ;  in  singing  psalms,  taking  care 
of  the  tabernacle  or  temple,  and  instructing  the  people . 
Two  of  the  other  tribes  were  sufficiently  distinguish- 
ed. That  of  Judah  was  always  the  most  illustrious 
*  1  Chron.  ii,  16.  f  Jerem.  xxxix,  14. 


Chap.  II.]  Their  Employments.  35 

and  the  most  numerous  ;  of  which,  according,  to 
Jacob's  prophecy,  their  kings  and  the  Messiah  him- 
self, were  to  come.*  That  of  Ephraim  held  the  se- 
cond rank  on  account  of  Joseph.  Yet  the  eldest 
branches  and  the  heads  of  each  family  were  most 
esteemed  in  every  tribe  :  and  this  made  Saul  say, 
surprised  with  the  respect  that  Samuel  paid  him,  Jim 
not  I  of  the  smallest  of  the  tribes  of  Israel,  and  my  family 
the  least  of  all  the  families  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  ?f 
Age  too  made  a  great  distinction  ;  and  the  name 
of  old  man  in  Scripture  generally  denotes  dignity. 
Indeed,  there  was  nothing  bat  age  and  experience  that 
could  distinguish  men  equally  noble,  and  of  the  same 
education  and  employments  and  almost  equally  rich. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Their  Employments .  — Agriculture . 
WE  do  not  find  any  distinct  professions  among 
the  Israelites.  From  the  eldest  of  the  tribe  of  Judah 
to  the  youngest  of  that  of  Benjamin,  they  were  all 
husbandmen  and  shepherds,  driving  their  ploughs 
and  watching  their  flocks  themselves.  The  old  man 
of  Gibeah,  that  lodged  the  Levite,  whose  wife  was  abu- 
sed, was  coming  back  at  night  from  his  work,  when  he 
invited  him  to  sojourn  with  him.  f  Gideon  himself 
was  threshing  his  corn  when  the  angel  told  him  he 
should  deliver  his  people. §  Ruth  got  into  the  good 
graces  of  Boaz  by  gleaning  at  his  harvest.  Saul, 
though  a  king,  was  driving  oxen,  when  he  received 
the  news  of  the  danger  Jabesh  Gilead  was  in.  ||  Every 
body  knows  that  David  was  keeping  sheep,  when  Sa- 
muel sent  to  look  for  him  to  anoint  him  king  ;**  and 
he  returned  to  his  flock  after  he  had  been  called  to 
play  upon  the  harp  before  Saul,  ft  After  he  was  king, 
his  sons  made  a  great  feast  at  the  shearing  of  their 
sheep.^  Elisha  was  called  to  be  a  prophet  as  he 

*  Gen.  xlix,  10.     1 1  Sana,  ix,  21.     J  Judg.  xix,  16.     §  Judg.  vi,  11. 
||  1  Sam.  xi,  5.,   **  1  Sam.  xvi,  U.     ff  1  Sam.  xvii,  15.     tj  2  Sam. 


36  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  II. 

drove  one  of  his  father's  twelve  ploughs.*  The 
child  that  he  brought  to  life  again  was  with  his  fa- 
ther at  the  harvest  when  it  fell  sick.f  And  Judith's 
husband,  though  very  rich,  got  the  illness  of  which 
he  died  on  the  like  occasion.^  The  Scripture 
abounds  with  such  examples. 

This,  without  doubt,  is  what  most  offends  those 
who  are  not  acquainted  with  antiquity,  and  have  no 
opinion  of  any  customs  but  their  own.  When  they 
hear  of  ploughmen  and  shepherds,  they  figure  to  them- 
selves a  parcel  of  clownish  boors,  that  lead  a  slavish 
miserable  life,  in  poverty  and  contempt,  without  cou- 
rage, without  sense  or  education.  They  don't  consi- 
der, that  what  makes  our  country  people  commonly  so 
wretched  is  their  being  slaves  to  all  the  rest  of  man- 
kind :  since  they  work  not  only  for  their  own  main- 
tenance, but  to  furnish  necessaries  for  all  those  that, 
live  in  high  and  polished  life.  For  it  is  the  country- 
man that  provides  for  the  citizens,  the  officers  of  the 
courts  of  judicature  and  treasury,  gentlemen,  and 
ecclesiastics  :  and  whatever  ways  we  make  use  of 
to  turn  money  into  provisions,  or  provisions  into 
money,  all  will  end  in  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  and 
those  animals  that  are  supported  by  them.  Yet  when 
we  compare  all  these  different  conditions  together, 
we  generally  place  those  that  work  in  the  country 
in  the  last  rank  :  and  most  people  set  a  greater  value 
upon  fat  idle  citizens,  that  are  weak  and  lazy  and  good 
for  nothing,  because,  being  richer,  they  live  more 
luxuriously,  and  at  their  ease. 

But  if  we  imagine  a  country,  where  the  difference 
of  conditions  is  not  so  great,  where  to  live  genteelly 
is  not  to  live  without  doing  any  thing  at  all,  but  care- 
fully to  preserve  one's  liberty,  which  consists  in  be- 
ing subject  to  nothing  but  the  laws  and  public  au- 
thority ;  where  the  inhabitants  subsist  upon  their 
own  stock,  without  depending  upon  any  body,  and 
are  content  with  a  little,  rather  than  do  a  mean  thing 
to  grow  rich  ;  a  country  where  idleness,  effeminacy, 
*  1  Kings  six,  19.  f  2  Kings  iv,  IS.  1  Judith  vii,  3. 


Oh.  II.]  Their  Employments.  37 

and  ignorance  of  what  is  necessary  for  the  support 
of  life,  are  discountenanced,  and  where  pleasure  is 
in  less  esteem  than  health  and  strength  :  in  such  a 
country  it  would  be  more  creditable  to  plough,  or  keep 
a  flock,  than  to  follow  diversions,  and  idle  away  the 
whole  of  a  man's  time.  Now  there  is  no  necessity 
of  having  any  recourse  to  Plata's  commonwealth 
to  find  men  of  this  character,  for  so  lived  the  great- 
est part  of  mankind  for  nearly  four  thousand  years. 

To  begin  with  what  we  are  best  acquainted  with. 
Of  this  sort  were  the  maxims  of  the  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans. We  see  everywhere  in  Homer,  kings  and 
princes  living  upon  the  fruits  of  their  lands  and  their 
flocks,  and  working  with  their  own  hands.*  He- 
siod  has  written  a  poem  on  purpose  to  recommend 
husbandry,  as  the  only  creditable  means  of  subsist- 
ing and  improving  one's  fortune  ;  and  finds  fault  with 
his  brother,  to  whom  he  addresses  it,  for  living  at 
other  people's  expense,  by  pleading  causes,  and  fol- 
lowing affairs  of  that  kind.f  He  reckons  this  em- 
ployment, which  is  the  sole  occupation  of  so  many 
amongst  us,  no  better  than  idleness.  We  see  by 
Xenophon's  (Economics  that  the  Greeks  had  no  way 
lessened  their  opinion  of  husbandry,  when  they  were 
at  the  highest  pitch  of  politeness. 

We  must  not  therefore  impute  the  fondness  of  the 
Romans  for  husbandry  to  stupidity  and  want  of  let- 
ters :  it  is  rather  a  sign  of  their  good  sense.  As  all 
men  are  born  with  limbs  and  bodies  fit  for  labour, 
they  thought  every  one  ought  to  make  use  of  them  ; 
and  that  they  could  not  do  it  to  better  purpose  than 
in  making  the  earth  afford  them  a  certain  mainte- 
nance and  innocent  plenty.  It  was  not,  however, 
covetousness  that  recommended  it  to  them  ;  since 
the  same  Romans  despised  gold,  and  the  presents  of 
strangers.  Nor  was  it  want  of  courage  and  brave- 
ry ;  since  at  that  very  time  they  subdued  all  Italy, 

*  See  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey  passim. 

t  Hesiodi  opera  et  Dies,  lib.  i,  v.  26.  Hesiod  flourished  about  876 
years  before  the  Christian  era ,  and  was  the  first  poet  who  celebrated 
agriculture  in  verse. 

4 


38  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  II. 

and  raised  those  powerful  armies  with  which,  they 
afterward  conquered  the  whole  world.  On  the 
contrary,  the  painful  and  frugal  life  they  led  in  the 
country  was  the  chief  reason  of  their  great  strength, 
making  their  bodies  robust  by  inuring  them  to  labour, 
and  accustoming  them  to  severe  discipline.  Who- 
ever is  acquainted  with  the  life  of  WCato  the  Censor, 
cannot  suspect  him  of  a  low  way  of  thinking,  or  of 
meanness  of  spirit ;  yet  that  great  man,  who  had 
i^one  through  all  the  offices  in  the  commonwealth 
when  it  flourished  most,  who  had  governed  provin- 
ces and  commanded  armies  ;  that  great  orator,  law- 
yer, and  politician,  did  not  think  it  beneath  him  to 
write  of  the  various  ways  of  managing  lands  and 
vines,  the  method  of  building  stables  for  different 
sorts  of  beasts,  and  a  press  for  wine  or  oil :  and  all 
this  in  the  most  circumstantial  manner  ;  so  that,  we 
see,  he  understood  it  perfectly,  and  did  not  write  out 
of  ostentation  or  vainglory,  but  for  the  benefit  of 
mankind.* 

Let  us  then  frankly  own  that  our  contempt  of 
husbandry  is  not  founded  upon  any  solid  reason  ; 
since  this  occupation  is  no  way  inconsistent  with 
courage,  or  any  other  virtue  that  is  necessary  either 
in  peace  or  war,  or  even  in  true  politeness.  Whence 
then  does  it  proceed  ?  I  will  endeavour  to  show  the 
real  cause.  It  comes  only  from  use,  and  the  old 
customs  of  our  own  country.  The  Franks  and  other 
people  of  Germany,  lived  in  countries  that  were  co- 
vered with  forests  :  they  had  neither  corn  nor  wine, 
nor  any  good  fruits  :  so  that  they  were  obliged  to 
live  by  hunting,  as  the  savages  still  do  in  the  cold 
countries  of  America.  After  they  had  crossed  the 
Rhine,  and  settled  on  better  lands,  they  were  ready 
enough  to  take  the  advantages  that  result  from  agri- 
culture, arts,  and  trade  ;  but  would  not  apply  them- 
selves to  any  of  them.  They  left  this  occupation  to 
the  Romans  whom  they  had  subdued,  and  continued 
in  their  ancient  ignorance,  which  time  seemed  to 

*  See  his  work  De  Re  Ritstica. 


Ch.  II.]  Their  Husbandry,  fyc.  39 

have  made  venerable  ;  and  attached  such  an  idea  of 
nobility  to  it,  as  we  have  still  much  ado  to  abandon. 

But  in  the  same  degree  that  they  lessened  the 
esteem  for  agriculture,  they  brought  hunting  into 
credit,  of  which  the  ancients  made  but  little  account. 
They  held  it  fn  the  highest  repute,  and  advanced  it 
to  very  great  perfection,  sparing  neither  pains  nor 
expense.  This  has  been  generally  the  employment 
of  the  nobility.  Yet,  to  consider  things  in  a  true 
light,  the  labour  spent  in  tilling  the  ground,  and  rear- 
ing tame  creatures,  answers  at  least  as  well,  as  that 
which  only  aims  at  catching  wild  beasts,  often  at  the 
expense  of  tillage.  The  moderate  pains  of  one  that 
has  the  care  of  a  great  number  of  cattle  and  poultry, 
is,  surely,  as  eligible  as  the  violent  and  unequal  ex- 
ercise of  a  hunter  ;  and  oxen  and  sheep  are  at  least 
as  useful  for  our  support  as  dogs  and  horses.  It 
may  well  therefore  be  asserted,  that  our  customs,  in 
this  point,  are  not  as  agreeable  to  reason  as  those  of 
the  ancients.* 

Besides,  iheGreeks  and  Romans  were  not  the  only 
people  that  esteemed  agriculture  as  the  Hebrews 
did  :  the  Carthaginians,  who  were  originally  Phoeni- 
cians, studied  it  much,  as  appears  by  the  twenty- 
eight  books  which  Mago  wrote  upon  that  subject. f 
The  Egyptians  had  such  a  reverence  for  it,  as  even  to 
adore  the  creatures  that  were  of  use  in  it.  The 
Persians,  in  the  height  of  their  power,  had  overseers 
in  every  province  to  look  after  .the  tillage  of  the 
ground.  Cyrus  the  younger  delighted  in  planting 
and  cultivating  a  garden  with  his  own  hands.  |  As 

*  This  relict  of  ancient  barbarism  is  continued  among  us  in  full 
vigour ;  and  without  any  kind  of  reason  to  vindicate  the  practice. 
By  it  our  gothic  ancestors  provided  for  their  sustenance :  but  theii 
descendants  use  it  as  a  species  of  pleasure,  without  being  impelled  to 
it  by  any  kind  of  necessity.  Often  the  peaceable  inhabitants  of  a 
whole  country  are  thrown  into  confusion  by  vast  numbers  of  dogs  and 
horsemen,  breaking  through  their  enclosures,  and  destroying  the  hopes 
of  their  agricultural  toil.  And  all  this  to  run  a  poor  timid  helpless 
animal  out  of  breath  !  Is  not  such  a  practice  as  this  as  disgraceful  to 
humanity  as  it  is  to  common  sense  ? 

t  Yarro's  Preface,     t  Xenoph.  (Econ. 


40  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  II, 

to  the  Chaldeans,  we  cannot  doubt  of  their  being- 
well  skilled  in  husbandry,  if  we  reflect  upon  the  fruit- 
fulness  of  the  plains  of  Babylon,  which  produced 
two  or  three  hundred  grains  for  one.*  In  a  word, 
the  history  of  China  teaches  us,  that  agriculture  was 
also  in  high  esteem  among  them  in  the  most  ancient 
and  best  times.  Nothing  but  the  tyranny  of  the  north- 
ern nations  has  made  it  so  generally  disesteemed. 

Let  us  then  divest  ourselves  of  the  mean  opinion  we 
have  conceived  of  it  from  our  infancy.  Instead  of 
our  villages,  where  we  see  on  one  side  castles  and 
houses  of  pleasure,  and  on  the  other  miserable  huts 
and  cottages,  let  us  imagine  we  saw  those  spacious 
farms  which  the  Romans  called  VILLAS,  that  con- 
tained an  apartment  for  the  master,  an  inner  yard  for 
poultry,  barns,  stables,  and  servants'  houses  ;  and  all 
this  in  exact  proportion,  well  built,  kept  in  good  re- 
pair, and  exceedingly  clean.  We  may  see  descrip- 
tions of  them  in  Varro  and  Colwnella.  Their  slaves 
were  most  of  them  happier  than  our  country  people, 
well  fed,  well  clothed,  and  without  any  care  upon 
their  hands  for  the  sustenance  of  their  families.  The 
masters,  frugal  as  they  were,  lived  more  to  their  sa- 
tisfaction than  our  gentry.  We  read  in  Xenophon  of 
an  Athenian  citizen,  who,  taking  a  walk  every  morn- 
ing into  the  fields  to  look  after  his  workmen,  at  the 
same  time  promoted  his  health  by  the  exercise  of  his 
body,  and  increased  his  substance  by  his  diligence  to 
make  the  most  of  it.f  So  that  he  was  rich  enough  to 
give  liberally  to  religious  uses,  the  service  of  his 
friends,  and  country.  Tully  mentions  several  farmers 
in  Sicily,  so  rich  and  magnificent,  as  to  have  their 
houses  furnished  with  statues  of  great  value,  and  were 
possessed  of  gold  and  silver  plate  of  chased  work.}: 

In  fine,  it  must  be  owned,  that  as  long  as  the  no- 
bility and  rich  men  of  a  country  were  not  above  this 
most  ancient  of  all  professions,  their  lives  were  more 

*  Toy  fo  rtjs  At7/j»?rpoj  xapirov  cofc  aya$>}  CK<f>epciv  tan,  axrrs  tin  litjKoma- 
.-.vi  rpwoaia  ticQtpu.     Herodot.  Clio.  p.  89.     Edit.  Steph.  1592, 
fXenoph.  OEcon.  and  Ctc.  Cato  Major,  c.  17. 
i  Lib.  iv?  in  Ver.  Edit.  Lond.  1630,  vol.  II.  p.  2721, 


Oh.  II.]  Their  Husbandry,  $c.  41 

happy,  because  more  conformable  to  nature.  They 
lived  longer,  and  in  better  health,  their  bodies  were 
fitter  for  the  fatigue  of  war  and  travelling,  and  their 
minds  more  serious  and  composed.  Being-  less  idle, 
they  were  not  so  tired  of  themselves,  nor  solicitous  in 
refining  their  pleasures.  Labour  gave  a  relish  to  the 
smallest  diversions.  They  had  fewer  evil  designs  in 
their  heads,  and  less  temptation  to  put  them  in  exe- 
cution. Their  plain  and  frugal  way  of  living  did 
not  admit  of  extravagance,  or  occasion  their  running 
into  debt.  There  were,  of  consequence,  fewer  law- 
suits, selling  up  of  goods,  and  families  ruined  :  fewer 
frauds,  outrages,  and  such  other  crimes,  as  real  or 
imaginary  poverty  makes  men  commit,  when  they 
are  not  able  or  willing  to  work.  The  worst  is,  that 
the  example  of  the  rich  and  noble  influences  every 
body  else  :  whoever  thrives  so  as  to  be  never  so  little 
above  the  dregs  of  the  people  is  ashamed  to  work, 
especially  at  husbandry.  Hence  come  so  many  shifts 
to  live  by  one's  wits,  so  many  new  contrivances 
as  are  invented  every  day,  to  draw  money  out  of  one 
purse  into  another.  God  knows  best  how  innocent 
all  these  unnatural  ways  of  living  are.  They  are  at 
least  most  of  them  very  precarious  ;  whereas  the 
earth  will  always  maintain  those  that  cultivate  it,  if 
other  people  do  not  take  its  produce  from  them. 

So  far  then  is  the  country  and  laborious  life  of 
the  Israelites  from  making  them  contemptible,  that 
it  is  a  proof  of  their  wisdom,  good  education,  and 
resolution  to  observe  the  rules  of  their  fathers.  They 
knew  the  first  man  was  placed  in  the  terrestrial  pa- 
radise to  work  there  ;*  and  that,  after  his  fall,  he 
was  condemned  to  more  laborious  and  ungrateful 
toil.f  They  were  convinced  of  those  solid  truths  so 
often  repeated  in  the  books  of  Solomon :  that  poverty 
is  the  fruit  of  laziness.^  That  he  who  sleeps  in  sum- 
mer, instead  of  minding  his  harvest,  or  that  ploughs  not  in 
winter  for  fear  of  the  cold,  deserves  to  beg  and  have  no- 
thing.§  That  plenty  is  the  natural  consequence  of  la- 
*  Gen.  ii,  15.  f  Gen.  iii,  17.  J  Prov.  x,  4,  5.  §  Prov.  xx,  4,  1?. 


42  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  II. 

hour  and  industry.*  That  riches,  too  hastily  got,  arc 
not  blessed.^  There  we  see  frugal  poverty,  with 
cheerfulness  and  plainness,  preferred  to  riches  and 
abundance,  with  strife  and  insolence  ;:}:  the  inconve- 
nience of  the  two  extremes  of  poverty  and  wealth,  and 
the  wise  man's  desires,  confined  to  the  necessaries 
of  life.  §  He  even  enters  into  a  minute  detail  of  eco- 
nomical precepts :  Prepare  thy  work,  says  he,  without, 
and  make  it  jit  for  thyself  in  the  field,  and  afterward 
build  thine  house  ;IJ  which  is  the  same  with  thai 
maxim  in  Cato,  that  planting  requires  not  much  con- 
sideration, but  building  a  great  deal. 

Now  that  which  goes  by  the  name  of  work,  busi- 
ness, goods,  in  the  book  of  Proverbs,  and  throughout 
the  whole  Scripture,  constantly  relates  to  country  af- 
fairs ;  it  always  means  lands,  vines,  oxen  and  sheep. 
From  thence  are  borrowed  most  of  the  metaphorical 
expressions.  Kings  and  other  chiefs  are  called  shep- 
herds ;  and  the  people,  their  flocks  ;  to  govern  them, 
is  to  find  pasture  for  them.  Thus,  the  Israelites  sought 
their  livelihood  only  from  the  natural  sources,  which 
are  lands  and  cattle  :  and  from  hence,  all  that  en- 
riches mankind,  whether  by  manufactures,  trade, 
rents,  or  trafficking  with  money,  is  ultimately  de- 
rived.** 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Nature  of  the  Soil.—Ilsfmitfulness. 

THE  Israelites  dwelt  in  the  land  that  was  promi- 
sed to  the  patriarchs,  which  the  Scripture  often  de- 
scribes as  flowing  with  milk  and  honey,  to  express 
its  great  fertility.  This  country,  which  is  so  hot 
in  comparison  of  ours,  lies  a  great  way  within  the 
temperate  zone,  between  31  and  33  degrees  of  north- 
ern latitude.  It  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  very 

*  Prov.  xxvii,  18.  ]  Prav.  xx,  21.  J  Prov.  xvii,  1.  xix,  1.  §  Prov. 
xxx,  8,  9.  ||  Prov.  xxiv,  27. 

**  What  a  blessing  would  it  be  to  the  world,  were  these  times  o! 
primitive  simplicity  and  common  sense  restored  to  mankind. 


Oh,  III.]  Soil  and  Produce.  43 

high  mountains,  that  defend  it  from  the  scorching- 
winds  that  blow  from  the  Arabian  deserts,  and  which 
run  as  far  to  the  east  as  they  do.  The  Mediterra- 
nean, which  bounds  it  to  the  west  north-west,  sup- 
plies it  with  refreshing  breezes  ;  and  mount  Libanus, 
that  is  situated  more  to  the  north,  intercepts  those 
that  are  colder.  The  Mediterranean  is  what  the 
Scripture  commonly  calls  the  Great  sea ;  for  the  He- 
brews knew  little  of  the  ocean,  and  gave  the  name  oi 
seas  to  lakes  and  all  great  waters.  The  inland  part 
of  the  country  is  varied  with  a  great  many  mountains 
and  hills  proper  for  vines,  fruit  trees,  and  small  cattle  ; 
and  the  valleys  abound  with  streams,  very  necessary 
to  water  the  country,  which  has  no  river  but  Jordan. 
Rain  falls  seldom,  but  the  time  of  its  coming  is  well 
regulated  :  it  falls  in  the  spring  and  autumn,  and  is 
therefore  called  the  early  and  latter,  or  the  evening  and 
morning  rain,  in  Scripture,  which  reckons  the  year  as 
one  day.  In  summer,  the  great  dews  compensate 
for  the  scarcity  of  rain.  They  had  plains  fit  for  til- 
lage and  pasture,  particularly  the  great  plain  of  Ga- 
lilee :  and  this  variety  of  land,  within  so  small  a  com- 
pass, must  needs  afford  very  beautiful  landscapes, 
especially  where  a  country  is  well  peopled  and  cul- 
tivated. 

For  \ve  are  not  to  judge  of  the  Holy  Land  from 
the  condition  it  is  now  in.  From  the  time  of  the 
crusades  it  was  laid  waste  by  continual  wars,  till  it 
became  subject  to  the  Turks.  By  these  means  it  is 
now  almost  desolate.  There  is  nothing  to  be  seen 
but  little  paltry  villages,  ruins,  lands  uncultivated 
and  deserted,  but  full  of  high  grass,  which  shows 
their  natural  fertility.  The  Turks  neglect  it,  as  they 
do  their  other  provinces  ;  and  several  of  the  Arabian 
clans,  called  Bedouins,  encamp  there  at  pleasure,  and 
plunder  it  with  impunity.  To  know  then  what  it  was 
formerly,  we  must  consult  ancient  authors ;  Josephus, 
but  above  all  the  Holy  Scriptures.*  Consider  the 

*  Jos.  WAR,  b.  3,  c.  3.  ANT.  b.  5,  c.  1,  5,  21.  Winston's  Transla- 
tion, fo!.  Lond.  1737. 


44  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  II, 

report  which  the  spies  made  that  were  sent  by  Mo- 
ses, and  the  prodigious  bunch  of  grapes  they  brought 
back.*  And  that  we  may  not  be  surprised  at  it,  let 
us  compare  the  grapes  in  France  with  those  in  Italy, 
which  is  a  cold  country  in  comparison  of  Palestine. 
It  is  the  same  with  regard  to  most  of  our  fruits.  Their 
names  still  show  that  we  had  them  originally  from 
Asia  and  Africa  :  but  they  have  not  retained  then- 
extraordinary  size  and  natural  flavour  with  their 
names. 

The  Israelites  had  vast  crops  of  corn  and  barley  . 
wlieat  is  reckoned  among  the  chief  commodities  that 
they  carried  to  Tyre.f  They  had  plenty  of  oil  and 
honey.  The  mountains  of  Judah  and  Ephraim  were 
great  vineyards.  J  The  palm  trees  that  grow  about 
Jericho  yielded  a  considerable  profit ;  and  it  was  the 
only  place  in  the  world  where  the  genuine  balsam  tree 
was  to  be  found. § 

This  fertility  of  their  country,  and  the  pains  they 
took  to  cultivate  it,  account  for  its  maintaining  such 
a  multitude  of  people,  though  it  was  of  so  small  ex- 
tent. For  what  the  Scripture  says  of  it  seems  hardly 
credible  at  first  sight.  When  the  people  first  came 
into  this  land,  there  were  more  than  six  hundred  thou- 
sand men  bearing  arms,  from  twenty  years  old  to 
sixty.  j|  In  the  war  of  Gibeah,  the  tribe  of  Ben- 
jamin alone,  which  was  the  least  of  all,  had  an 
army  of  twenty-six  thousand  men,  and  the  rest  of  the 
people  had  one  of  four  hundred  thousand.**  Saul 
headed  two  hundred  and  ten  thousand  men  against  the 
Amalekites,  when  he  rooted  them  out. ft  David 
always  kept  up  twelve  corps,  each  consisting  of  twenty- 
four  thousand  men,  which  served  by  the  month,  and 
amounted  to  two  hundred  and  eighty  thousand.  J  J  And 
when  he  numbered  the  people,  which  brought  down 
the  wrath  of  God  upon  him,  there  were  one  million 
three  hundred  thousand  fighting  men.§§  Jehosha- 

*  Numb,  xiii,  23.  t  Ezek.  xxvii,  17.  |  Josephus,  WAR,  b.  1,  c.  5. 
SFastidit  Balsamum  alibi  nasci.  Plin.  Hist.  Nat.  lib.  xvi,  c.  32. 
||  Numb,  xi,  21.  **Judg.  xx,  17.  ftl  Sam.  xv,  4.  tf  1  Chron. 
jxvii,  1.  §§2  Sam.  xxiv,  9. 


Ch.  III.]  Soil  and  Population.  45 

phat  had  more  in  proportion  :  for  though  he  had 
scarcely  a  third  part  of  David's  kingdom,  he  had 
more  troops  fit  for  war ;  which,  altogether,  made 
eleven  hundred  and  threescore  thousand  men,  all  under 
his  immediate  command,  besides  the  garrisons  in  his 
strong  places.* 

Nor  is  there  any  thing  incredible  in  all  this  :  we 
see  examples  to  the  same  purpose  in  profane  his- 
tory. The  great  city  of  Thebes  in  Egypt  furnished 
out  of  its  own  inhabitants  alone  seven  hundred  thou- 
sand fighting  men.f  In  the  year  188,  from  the 
foundation  of  Rome,  when  Servius  Tullius  first  num- 
bered the  people,  they  reckoned  eighty  thousand  citi- 
zens fit  to  bear  arms4  Yet  they  had  nothing  to 
subsist  upon  but  the  land  about  Rome,  which  is  now 
most  of  it  barren  and  desolate  ;  for  their  dominion 
did  not  extend  above  eight  or  ten  leagues. § 

That  was  the  chief  foundation  of  their  politics  in 
old  time.  In  the  multitude  of  people,  says  the  wise 
man,  is  the  king's  honour,  but  in  the  want  of  people  is  the 
destruction  of  the  prince.  \\  They  supported  themselves 
much  less  by  cunning  than  real  strength.  Instead 
of  being  industrious  in  setting  spies  upon  their  neigh- 
bours, and  endeavouring  to  sow  divisions  among 
them,  or  gain  credit  by  false  reports,  they  took  pains 
to  people  and  cultivate  their  own  country,  and  make 
the  most  of  it  they  possibly  could,  whether  it  was 
small  or  great. 

They  endeavoured  to  make  marriages  easy,  and 
the  lives  of  married  people  comfortable ;  to  get  health 
and  plenty,  and  draw  out  of  the  ground  all  it  could 
produce.  They  employed  their  citizens  in  labour, 
inspired  them  with  a  love  of  their  country,  unanimity 
among  themselves,  and  obedience  to  the  laws  :  this 
is  what  they  called  politics. — These  are  fine  maxims, 
it  may  be  said  ;  but  let  us  come  to  matters  of  fact. 
Show  us  how  it  is  possible,  that  so  small  a  country 
as  Palestine  should  maintain  so  great  a  number  oi 

*2Chron.  xvii,  14, 15,  &c.  f  Tacit.  Annal.  ii.  JLiv.  i,  24.  §Sec 
'.he  supplement  at  the  end  of  this  chapter.  ||  Prov.  siv,  23. 


Iti  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II. 

people.  In  order  to  do  this,  we  must  have  patience 
to  go  through  a  short  calculation,  and  not  to  think 
it  below  us  to  descend  to  particulars,  which  is  the 
only  way  of  proving  it  to  satisfaction. 

Josephus  has  preserved  a  valuable  fragment  of 
Hecataeus  the  Abderite,  who  lived  in  the  time  of 
Alexander  the  Great,  and  was  a  courtier  of  Ptolemy 
the  First.  After  relating  many  remarkable  particu- 
lars concerning  the  manners  of  the  Jews,  he  adds, 
that  the  country  they  inhabited  contains  about  three 
million  anires  of  very  rich  and  fruitful  ground.*  The 
arure,  according  to  Eustathius,  was  a  hundred  square 
cubits,  that  is,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  which,  mul- 
tiplied into  so  many  square  feet,  make  twenty-two 
thousand  five  hundred.^  Now,  our  arpent,  or  acre  of 
a  hundred  perches,  contains  forty  thousand  square 
feet,  reckoning  the  perch  but  twenty  feet.  So  nine 
of  our  arpents  make  sixteen  arures. 

I  have  informed  my  self  of  the  produce  of  our  best 
land,  and  find  that  it  yields  five  quarters  of  corn  per 
arpent,  Paris  measure.  I  have  inquired  likewise,  how 
much  goes  to  the  sustenance  of  one  man,  and  find, 
that,  at  the  allowance  of  two  pounds  and  six  ounces 
of  bread  per  day,  he  consumes  about  three  bushels 
of  corn  each  month,  which  comes  to  thirty-six  bush- 
els per  year.  But  this  would  not  have  been  enough 
for  the  Israelites ;  we  must  give  them  at  least  double ; 
and  it  may  be  proved  from  Scripture.  When  God 
gave  them  manna  in  the  wilderness,  he  ordered  each 
man  to  take  an  omer  of  it  every  day,  neither  more 
nor  less  ;t  and  it  is  often  said,  that  it  was  as  much 
as  a  man  could  eat.  Now,  an  omer,  reduced  to  our 
measure,  held  above  five  pints,  and  its  weight  was 
more  than  five  pounds  and  a  half.  §  It  was  then  about 
eighty-four  bushels  per  year  :  consequently,  each 
arpent,  or  acre,  could  maintain  but  two  men  at  most ; 
and  three  millions  of  arures  making  one  million  six 
hundred  eighty-seven  thousand  five  hundred  arpents, 

*  Joseph,  cont.  App.  b.  II,  p.  990.  Whiston's  edit.  Lond.  fol.  1737 
.  t  Eustath.  ex  Horn,     t  Exod.  xvi,  16.     §  Ibid.  ver.  18. 


Ch.  II.]  Soil  and  Produce.  4? 

would  feed  three  million  three  hundred  and  seventy-five 
thousand  men. 

I  know  very  well  this  number  would  not  be  suf- 
ficient to  furnish  out  the  one  million  two  hundred 
thousand  fighting  men  of  Jehoshaphat.  He  had  not 
dominion  over  half  the  land  ;  and  though  all  the 
Israelites  bore  arms  without  distinction,  there  were 
always  a  great  many  persons  among  them  unfit  for 
war.  We  must  reckon  nearly  as  many  women  as 
men,  a  great  many  old  men,  and  more  children  :  and 
though  in  proportion  they  need  less  food,  however 
it  must  require  a  great  deal  to  suffice  such  a  multi- 
tude. Besides,  they  were  obliged  by  the  law  to  let 
the  land  have  rest  every  seventh  year. 

But  it  must  be  observed  that  this  passage  in  He- 
cataeus  relates  only  to  the  ploughed  lands  of  the  Jews, 
and  those  too  that  were  most  fruitful.  For  if  we 
take  the  whole  extent  of  the  land  of  Israel,  it  would 
be  fourteen  times  as  much.  It  cannot  be  computed 
as  less  than  five  degrees  square,  according  to  our 
maps.  Now  one  degree  makes  two  million,  nine  hun- 
dred thirty  thousand,  two  hundred  fifty-nine  square 
arpents  ;  and  the  five  degrees,  fourteen  million,  six 
hundred  fifty-one  thousand,  two  hundred  ninety  five  ar- 
pents. So  that  it  is  evident  Hecataeus  has  reckoned 
only  a  small  part.  He  has  left  out  what  the  Sama- 
ritans enjoyed  in  his  time  ;  their  lakes,  deserts,  and 
barren  grounds,  vineyards,  plantations,  and  pastures, 
of  which  they  must  have  had  a  large  quantity  for 
the  support  of  their  great  herds  of  cattle.  For  be- 
sides what  they  bred,  they  had  some  from  other 
countries.  The  king  of  Moab  paid  Ahab  king  of 
Israel  a  tribute  of  a  hundred  thousand  lambs,  and  as 
many  rams.  Other  Arabians  brought  Jehoshaphat 
seven  thousand  seven  hundred  rams,  and  as  many  he- 
goats.*  All  this  cattle  was  a  great  help  to  maintain- 
ing them,  not  only  by  the  flesh,  but  the  milk.  Con- 
sidering that  the  Israelites  lived  in  a  simple  manner, 
and  laid  out  all  their  good  ground  in  tillage  ;  for  they 

*  2  Chron.  xvii,  11. 


48  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  II. 

had  few  groves,  no  parks  for  hunting,  nor  avenues, 
nor  flower  gardens.  We  see  by  the  Song  of  Solomon 
that  their  gardens  were  full  of  fruit  trees  and  aroma- 
tic plants ;  we  may  therefore  be  in  still  less  concern 
for  their  lodging  than  their  food,  since  half,  nay  a 
quarter  of  an  acre,  is  more  than  sufficient  to  lodge, 
not  only  one  man,  but  a  whole  family,  with  ease  and 
Convenience. 

SUPPLEMENT  TO  CHAPTER  III, 

Concerning  the  population  of  ancient  nations. 

As  popular  arithmetic  is  become  a  subject  of  con- 
siderable importance,  the  reader  will  not  be  displea- 
sed to  see  the  following  collections  in  this  place,  re- 
lative to  the  population  of  some  ancient  states. 

The  free  citizens  of  Sybaris,  able  to  bear  arms, 
and  actually  drawn  out  in  battle  were  300,000, 
they  encountered  at  Siagara  with  100,000  of  Cro- 
tona,  a  neighbouring  Greek  city,  and  were  defeated. 
Diod.  Sicul.  lib.  xii.  Strabo  confirms  this  account, 
lib.  vi. 

The  citizens  of  Agrigentum  when  it  was  destroy- 
ed by  the  Carthaginians  amounted  according  to  Di- 
odorus  Siculus  (lib.  xiii,)  to  20,000,  besides  200,000 
strangers  ;  but  neither  the  slaves  nor  women  and 
children  are  included  in  this  account.  On  the  whole, 
this  city  must  have  contained  nearly  2,000,000  of 
inhabitants. 

Polybius  says,  (lib.  ii,)  that  when  the  Romans 
were  threatened  with  an  invasion  from  the  Gauls,  be- 
tween the  first  and  second  punic  war,  on  a  muster 
of  their  own  forces,  and  those  of  their  allies,  they 
were  found  to  amount  to  700,000  men  able  to  bear 
arms.  The  country  that  supplied  this  number  was 
not  one  third  of  Italy,  viz.  the  pope's  dominions, 
Tuscany,  and  a  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  But 
Diodorus  Siculus  (lib.  ii,)  makes  the  same  enume- 
ration amount  to  nearly  1,000,000. 

Julius  Caesar,   according  to  Appian  (Celtica)  en- 


Oh.  III.]       Population  of  Ancient  Nations.  49 

countered  4,000,000  of  Gauls,  killed  one  million, 
and  took  another  million  prisoners. 

Athenaeus  says  (lib.  vi,  cap.  20,)  that  by  the1  enu- 
meration of  Demetrius  Phalerius,  there  were  in 
Athens  21,000  citizens,  18,000  strangers  and  400,000 
slaves. 

The  same  author  says,  that  Corinth  had  once 
460,000  slaves,  and  Egina,  470,000. 

The  Spartans,  says  Plutarch,  (in  vit.  Lycurg.) 
were  9000  in  the  town,  30,000  in  the  country  :  the 
male  slaves  must  have  been  78,000,  the  whole  more 
than  3,120,000. 

In  the  time  of  Diodorus  Siculus  there  lived  in  Alex- 
andria 300,000  free  people  :  and  this  number  does 
not  seem  to  comprehend  either  the  slaves  (who  must 
have  been  double  the  number  of  grown  persons)  or 
the  women  and  children,  lib.  xvii. 

Appian  says,  (Celt.  pars.  1,)  that  there  were  400 
nations  in  Gaul ;  and  Diodorus  Siculus  says,  (lib.  v,) 
that  the  largest  of  these  nations  consisted  of  200,000 
men,  besides  women  and  children,  and  the  least  of 
50,000.  Calculating  therefore  at  a  medium,  we 
must  admit  of  nearly  200,000,000  of  people  in  that 
country,  the  population  of  which  does  not  now 
amount  to  30,000,000.  The  latter  historian  tells  us, 
that  the  army  of  Ninus  was  composed  of  1,700,000 
foot,  and  200,000  horse,  (lib.  ii.)  There  were 
exact  bills  of  mortality  kept  at  Rome  ;  but  no  an- 
cient  author  has  given  us  the  number  of  burials,  ex- 
cept Suetonius,  who  tells  us,  that  in  one  season 
30,000  names  were  carried  to  the  temple  of  Libitina, 
(the  goddess  of  death)  but  it  appears  that  a  plague 
raged  at  that  time.  Suet,  in  vit.  Neronis. 

Diodorus  Siculus  (lib.  ii,)  says,  that  Dionysius  the 
elder,  had  a  standing  army  of  100,000  foot,  10,000 
horse,  and  a  fleet  of  400  gallies. 

If  the  preceding  statements  be  correct,  what  de» 
solations  must  have  taken  place  in  the  earth  in  the 
course  of  the  last  2000  years  ! 

Baron  Montesquieu  supposes  that  population  is 
5 


50  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  II, 

not  so  great  now  as  it  was  formerly.  Lettres  per- 
sonnes,  et  L'Esprit  de  Loix,  liv.  xxiii,  chap.  17,  18, 
19.  Travel  (says  this  sensible  writer)  through  the 
whole  earth,  and  you  will  find  nothing  but  decay  : 
one  might  well  suppose  it  to  be  just  arising  out  of 
the  ravages  of  the  plague  or  of  the  famine.  After  the 
most  exact  calculation  which  subjects  of  this  nature 
can  admit  of,  we  find  that  there  is  scarcely  the 
fiftieth  part  of  men  upon  the  earth  now,  that  there 
was  in  the  time  of  Julius  Caesar.  What  is  most 
astonishing  is,  that  population  decreases  daily,  and  if 
this  should  continue,  the  world  must  become  a  de- 
sert in  the  course  of  ten  centuries.  This  is  the  most 
terrible  catastrophe  that  has  ever  taken  place  in  the 
world  ;  but  it  is  scarcely  perceived  because  it  comes 
insensibly,  and  in  the  course  of  a  great  number  of 
centuries  :  but  this  proves  that  an  inward  decay, 
a  secret  and  hidden  poison,  a  languishing  disease 
afflicts  the  whole  course  of  human  nature.  See 
Mr.  Hume's  Essay  on  the  populousness  of  ancient 
nations. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Riches  of  the  Israelites. 

EACH  Israelite  had  his  field  to  till,  which  was  the 
same  that  had  been  allotted  to  his  ancestors  in  the 
time  of  Joshua.  They  could  neither  change  their 
place,  nor  enrich  themselves  to  any  great  degree. 
The  law  of  jubilee  had  provided  against  that  by 
revoking  all  alienations  every  fifty  years,  and  for- 
bidding to  exact  debts,  not  only  this  forty-ninth  year, 
but  every  sabbatical  year :  for  as  the  ground  lay 
fallow  those  years,  it  was  but  reasonable  to  put  a 
stop  to  law  proceedings  at  the  same  time.*  Now 
this  difficulty  of  being  paid  again,  made  it  not  so  easy 
to  borrow  money,  and  consequently  lessened  the  oppor- 

*  Lev.  xxv,  10, 11,  &c,  Joseph.  Antiq.  b.  iii,  c.  12,  s.  "3.  Whiston's 
edit.  fol.  Lond.  1737, 


Uh.  IV.]  Thtir  Riches.  51 

tunities  of  impoverishment ;  which  was  the  design  oi 
the  law.  Besides,  the  impossibility  of  making  lasting 
purchases  gave  a  cJieck  to  ambition  and  anxiety  ;  every 
body  was  confined  to  the  portion  of  his  ancestors, 
and  took  a  pleasure  in  making  the  best  of  it,  knowing 
it  could  never  go  out  of  the  family. 

This  attachment  was  even  a  religious  duty  found- 
ed upon  the  law  of  God  :  and  thence  proceeded  the 
generous  opposition  made  by  Naboth,  when  king 
Ahab  would  have  persuaded  him  to  sell  the  inherit- 
ance of  his  fathers.*  So  the  law  says  they  were 
no  more  than  usufructuaries  of  their  land,  or  rather 
God's  tenants,  who  was  the  true  proprietor  of  it.f 
They  were  obliged  to  pay  no  rent,  but  the  tenths  and 
firstfruits  which  he  had  commanded  :  and  Samuel 
reckons  taxes  upon  corn  and  wine  as  one  of  the 
encroachments  of  kings  that  he  threatens  the  peo- 
ple with. |  All  the  Israelites  were  then  very  nearly 
equal  in  riches  as  well  as  quality  :  and  if,  by  the  in- 
crease of  a  family,  the  estate  in  land  was  forced  to 
be  divided  into  more  shares,  it  was  to  be  made  up 
with  industry  and  labour,  by  tilling  the  ground  more 
carefully,  and  breeding  greater  numbers  of  cattle  in 
deserts  and  commons. 

Thus,  it  was  cattle  and  other  moveables  that  made 
one  richer  than  another.  They  bred  the  same  sort 
of  creatures  as  the  patriarchs  did,  and  always  many 
more  females  than  males  ;  otherwise  they  had  been 
liable  to  many  inconveniences,  for  the  law  forbad  to 
castrate  them.§  They  had  no  horses,  nor  are  they 
of  any  great  use  in  mountainous  countries  :  their 
kings  had  them  out  of  Egypt,  when  they  had  occa- 
sion for  them.  The  common  way  of  riding  was  upon 
asses,  even  among  the  rich.  To  give  us  a  great  idea 
of  Jair,  one  of  the  judges  over  the  people,  the  Scrip- 
ture tells  us  that  he  had  thirty  sons  riding  upon  thir- 
ty asses,||  who  were  rulers  of  thirty  cities.  It  is  re- 
corded of  Abdon,  another  judge,  that  he  had  forty 

*  1  Kings  xxi,  3.    f  Levit.  xxv,  23.    }  1  Sam.  viii,  15.    §  Levit.  xxii, 
•fiulg.  x,  4. 


32  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II 

sons,  and  thirty  grandsons,  that  rode  upon  threescore 
and  ten  asses  ;*  and  in  the  Song  of  Deborah,  the 
captains  of  Israel  are  described  as  mounted  upon 
sleek  and  shining  asses. f 

It  does  not  appear  that  they  had  a  great  number 
of  slaves,  neither  had  they  any  occasion  for  them, 
•being  so  industrious  and  numerous  in  so  small  a 
country.  They  chose  rather  to  make  their  chil- 
dren work,  whom  they  were  obliged  to  maintain :  who 
served  them  better  than  any  slaves.  The  Romans 
found  a  great  inconvenience  at  last  from  that  vast 
multitude  of  slaves  of  all  nations,  which  luxury  and 
effeminacy  had  introduced  among  them  :  it  was  one 
of  the  chief  causes  of  the  ruin  of  that  empire. 

Ready  money  could  not  be  very  common  among 
the  Israelites  :  there  was  no  great  occasion  for  it  in 
a  country  of  little  trade,  and  where  it  was  scarcely 
possible  to  alienate  lands  or  run  into  debt.:J:  They 
were  forbidden  to  take  usury  of  one  another,  though 
they  might  of  strangers  :§  but  if  they  observed  their 
law,  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  have  any  dealings  with 
foreigners.||  Thus  their  wealth,  as  I  said  before,  cd*n- 
sisted  chiefly  in  land  and  cattle. 

And  they  are  riches  of  this  kind  which  God  pro- 
mises them,  such  as  are  most  natural  and  substantial. 
He  speaks  to  them  neither  of  gold,  nor  silver,  nor  pre- 
cious stones,  nor  fine  furniture  ;  much  less  of  other 
riches  which  depend  more  upon  trade,  and  the  in- 
ventions of  men  :  but  he  says  he  will  send  rain  in  its 
season,  that  the  earth  shall  bring  forth  corn  in  abun- 
dance, that  the  trees  shall  be  laden  with  fruit,  that 
the  harvest,  the  vintage,  and  seed-time,  shall  follow 
one  another  without  interruption.**  He  promises 
them  plenty  of  food,  undisturbed  sleep,  safety,  peace. 

*  Judges  xi;,  14. 

f  Judg.  v,  10. — -in¥  tsacbar  signifies  not  only  white,  as  it  is  transla- 
ted in  our  Bibles, but  sleek  or  shining;  nitentes,  as  the  Vulgate  has  i( 
And  probably  the  asses  here  mentioned  might  be  both  ;  the  authorV 
words  are  anes  polls  et  luisaiis.  The  word  occurs  but  twice  in  the 
Hebrew  Bible :  viz.  in  the  above  text,  and  Ezek.  xxvii,  18. 

|  Lev.  xxv,  10.  Deut.  xv,  1,  3.  §  Lev.  xxv,  36.  Dent,  xxiii,  If 
;'  9  Cbror..  ii.  17.  **  Lev.  xxvi,  3,  &c. 


Ch.  V.]  Their  Arts  and  Trades.  53 

and  even  victory  over  their  enemies.  He  adds,  that 
he  will  make  them  increase  and  multiply  by  looking 
favourably  upon  them,  that  his  blessing  shall  make 
their  wives  fruitful,  that  he  will  bless  their  herds  of 
cattle,  and  flocks  of  sheep,  their  granaries  and  cel- 
lars, and  the  works  of  their  hands.*  These  are  the 
temporal  good  things  which  God  allows  men  to  ex- 
pect from  him. 


CHAPTER   V. 

Their  Arts  and  Trades. 

WE  know  no  people  more  entirely  addicted  to 
agriculture  than  the  Israelites.  The  Egyptians  and 
Syrians  joined  manufactures,  navigation,  and  trade 
to  it  :  but  above  all,  the  Phoenicians,  who,  finding 
themselves  straitened  in  point  of  room,  from  the  time 
that  the  Israelites  drove  them  out  of  their  country, 
were  obliged  to  live  by  trade,  and  be  in  a  manner 
brokers  and  factors  for  all  the  rest  of  the  world.  The 
Greeks  imitated  them,  and  excelled  chiefly  in  arts. 
On  the  contrary,  the  Romans  despised  mechanics, 
and  applied  themselves  to  commerce. f  As  for  the 
Israelites,  their  land  was  sufficient  to  maintain 
them ;  and  the  seacoasts  were,  for  the  most  part, 
possessed  by  the  Philistines  and  Canaanites,  who 
were  the  Phanicians.  There  was  only  the  tribe  of 
Zabulon,  whose  share  of  land  lay  near  the  sea,  that 
had  any  temptation  to  trade  :  which  seems  to  be 
foretold  in  the  blessings  pronounced  by  Jacob  and 
Moses.  | 

Nor  do  we  see  that  they  applied  themselves  any 
more  to  manufactures.  Not  that  arts  were  not  then 
invented  :  many  of  them  are  older  than  the  flood  :§ 
and  we  find  that  the  Israelites  had  excellent  work- 

*  Deut.  xxviii,  4.  f  Joseph,  cont.  App.  1.  i,  12.  \  Gen.  xlix,  !•?• 
Deut.  xxxiii,  IB.  §  Gen.  iv,  20—22. 


54  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  II, 

men,  at  least  as  early  as  the  time  of  Moses.  Beza- 
leel  and  Aholiab,  who  made  the  tabernacle  and  eve- 
ry thing  that  was  necessary  for  the  service  of  God, 
are  an  instance  that  puts  this  past  dispute.*  It  is 
surprising  how  they  came  to  be  so  well  skilled  in 
arts  that  were  not  only  very  difficult,  but  very  differ- 
ent from  one  another.  They  understood  melting 
of  metals,  cutting  and  engraving  precious  stones" 
they  were  joiners,  makers  of  tapestry,  embroiderers, 
and  perfumers. 

There  are  two  of  these  arts  that  I  most  of  all 
admire,  the  cutting  of  jewels,  and  the  casting  oi 
figures  ;f  such  as  the  cherubim  of  the  ark,  and  the 
golden  calf  which  was  made  at  that  time.  The} 
who  understand  the  arts  ever  so  little,  know  how 
much  ingenuity  and  what  a  number  of  tools  those 
works  require.  If  they  were  invented  before,  it  is  a 
sign  that  even  the  arts  which  serve  only  for  orna- 
ment were  then  brought  to  great  perfection  :  and  ii 
they  had  any  secret,  to  do  the  same  thing  with  more 
ease  and  a  less  apparatus,  it  was  still  a  higher  de- 
gree of  improvement.  But  this  only  by  the  by,  to 
show  that  people  were  not  so  dull  and  ignorant  in 
these  ancient  times  as  many  imagine,  the  world  be- 
;ng  two  thousand  five  hundred  years  old  in  the  days 
of  Moses. 

But  whether  these  two  famous  workmen  had 
iearnt  from  the  Egyptians,  or  their  skill  was  miracu- 
lous and  inspired  by  God,  as  the  Scriptures  seem  to 
say,  it  does  not  appear  that  they  had  any  to  succeed 
them,  nor  that  any  of  the  Israelites  were  artificers 
by  profession,  and  worked  for  the  public  till  the 
time  of  the  kings.  When  Saul  began  to  reign,  it  is 
taken  notice  of,  that  there  was  no  workman  that  un- 
derstood forging  iron  in  all  the  land  of  Israel  4 
and  that  they  were  forced  to  go  to  the  Philistines  to 
sharpen  even  the  instruments  which  they  used  in 
husbandry.  It  is  true,  this  was  owing  to  the  op- 
"Exod.  xxxi,2.6.  xxxvi,  xxxvii,  &c.  fExod,  xxxi,  5,  + 1  Sam,  xiii,  1 P 


Oh.  V:]  Their  Arts  and  Trades,  55 

pression  of  the  Philistines,  to  hinder  them  from  ma- 
king arms.  But  several  years  after,  David  was  obli- 
ged, when  he  fled,  to  take  the  sword  of  Goliah,  which 
must  have  been  rather  too  heavy  for  him,  and  take  it 
too  out  of  God's  tabernacle,*  where  it  was  hung  up 
for  a  lasting  monument  of  his  victory.  This  makes 
me  think  there  were  no  arms  to  be  bought. 

It  seems  likewise  as  if  there  was  no  bread  sold  ; 
since,  upon  the  same  occasion,  Abimelech  the  priest 
was  obliged  to  give  David  the  show-bread  ;  which 
intimates  moreover,  that  people  kept  but  little  bread 
in  their  houses,  it  may  be,  upon  account  of  the  coun- 
try's being  so  hot.  So  the  witch  to  whom  Saul  went, 
made  him  bread  on  purpose  when  she  entertained 
him,  that  he  might  recover  his  strength. f  Every 
one  had  an  oven  in  his  own  house,  since  the  law 
threatens  them,  as  with  a  great  misfortune,  that  ten 
women  should  bake  their  bread  at  one  oven.:}:  At 
Rome  there  were  no  bakers  till  the  time  of  the  Per- 
sian war,  more  than  five  hundred  and  eighty  years 
after  the  foundation  of  the  city.§ 

Were  we  to  reckon  up  all  trades  particularly,  it 
would  appear  that  many  would  have  been  of  no  use 
to  them.  Their  plain  way  of  living,  and  the  mild- 
ness of  the  climate,  made  that  long  train  of  conve- 
niences unnecessary,  which  we  think  it  hard  to  be 
without ;  though  vanity  and  effeminacy,  more  than 
real  want,  have  introduced  them.  And  as  to  things 
that  were  absolutely  necessary,  there  were  few  of 
them  that  they  did  not  know  how  to  make  them- 
selves. All  sorts  of  food  were  cooked  withindoors. 
The  women  made  bread  and  prepared  the  victuals, 
they  spun  wool,  made  stuffs  and  wearing  apparel : 
the  men  took  care  of  the  rest. 

Homer  describes  old  Eumae,us  making  his  own 
shoes,  and  says,  that  he  had  built  fine  stalls  for  the 

*  1  Sam.  xxi,  9.     f  1  Sam.  xxviii,  24.     f  Lev.  xxvi,  26. 

§  Pistores,  Romae  non  fuerunt  ad  Persicum  usque  bellum,  annis  a!* 
urbc  condita  super  580.  Ipsi  panem  faciebant  Quiritcs,  muliejrum  id 
opus  erst  P!in.  Hist.  Nat.  lib.  xviij,  c.  11. 


50  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II. 

cattle  be  bred.*  Ulysses  himself  built  his  own  house, 
and  set  up  his  bed  with  great  art,  the  structure  of 
which  served  to  make  him  known  to  Penelope 
again. f  When  he  left  Calypso,  it  was  he  alone  that 
built  and  rigged  the  ship  ;  from  all  which  we  see  the 
spirit  of  these  ancient  times.:}:  It  was  esteemed  an 
honour  for  each  person  to  understand  the  making  of 
every  thing  necessary  for  life,  without  any  depe-nd- 
ance  upon  others,  and  it  is  that  which  Homer  most 
commonly  calls  wisdom  and  knowledge.  Now,  I 
must  say,  the  authority  of  Homer  appears  to  me 
very  great  in  this  case.  As  he  lived  about  the  time 
of  the  prophet  Elijah,  and  in  Asia  Minor,  all  the  ac- 
counts that  he  gives  of  the  Greek  and  Trojan  cus- 
toms, have  a  wonderful  resemblance  with  what  the 
Scripture  informs  us  of  concerning  the  manners  oi 
the  Hebrews  and  other  eastern  people  :§  only  the 
Greeks,  not  being  so  ancient,  were  not  so  polite. 

But  however  it  might  be  in  former  times,  we  are 
sure  that  David  left  a  great  number  of  artificers  in  his 
kingdom  of  all  sorts  ;  masons,  carpenters,  black- 
smiths, goldsmiths,  and  indeed  all  such  as  work  in 
stone,  wood,  and  metals.  ||  And  that  we  may  not 
think  they  were  strangers,  it  is  said  that  Solomon 
chose  out  of  Israel  thirty  thousand  workmen,  and 
that  he  had  70,000  that  bare  burdens,  and  eighty 
thousand  hewers  in  the  mountains.**  It  is  true,  he 
borrowed  workmen  of  the  king  of  Tyre,tt  and  owned 
that  his  subjects  did  not  understand  cutting  wood  so 
well  as  the  Sidonians,  and  that  he  sent  for  Hiram,  an 
excellent  founder,  to  make  the  sacred  vessels. 

But  luxury  increasing  after  the  division  of  the  two 
kingdoms,  there  is  reason  to  believe  they  had  always 
plenty  of  workmen.  In  the  genealogy  of  the  tribe 

*  Awroj  S'afi<l>i  iroStaaiv  lots  apaptoxs  «JiAo, 
'rapMv  fep/ia  ftociov,  ev^poEj.  Odyss.  lib.  xiv,  v.  23, 

Here  sat  Eumaeus,  and  his  care  apply'd 
To  form  strong  buskins  of  well  season'd  hide.  POPE. 

|  Odyss.  lib.  xxiii,  v.  183—204.  {  Odyss.  lib.  v.  243—257.  §  Mann 
Arundel.  ||  1  Chron.  xxii,  15,  16.  **  1  Kings  v,  13, 15.  ft  1  Kine- 
r,  1—12.  vii,  13,  &c. 


Ch.  V.]  Their  Arts  and  Trades,  57 

of  Judah,  we  may  observe,  there  is  a  place  called 
the  valley  of  craftsmen,*  because,  says  the  Scripture, 
they  dwelt  there.  There  is  likewise  mention  made 
in  the  same  place,  of  people  that  wrought  fine  linen, 
and  of  potters,  who  worked  for  the  king,  and  dwelt 
in  his  gardens.  All  this  shows  the  respect  that  was 
paid  to  famous  mechanics,  and  the  care  that  was 
taken  to  preserve  their  memory.  The  prophet  Isaiah, 
amongst  his  menaces  against  Jerusalem,  foretells, 
that  God  will  take  away  from  her  the  cunning  artifi- 
cers :f  and  when  it  was  taken,  it  is  often  said,  that 
they  carried  away  the  very  workmen .J  But  we 
have  a  proof  from  Ezekiel,  that  they  never  had  any 
considerable  manufactures,  when  the  prophet,  de- 
scribing the  abundance  of  their  merchandize  which 
came  to  Tyre,  mentions  nothing  brought  from  the 
land  of  Judah  and  Israel,  but  wheat,  oil,  resin,  and 
balm  ;§  all  of  them  commodities  that  the  earth  itseli 
produced. 

These  were  the  employments  of  the  Israelites, 
and  their  manner  of  subsisting.  Let  us  now  come 
to  something  more  particular,  and  describe  their 
apparel,  their  houses,  furniture,  food,  and  whole 
manner  of  living,  as  exactly  as  we  can.  They  rose 
early,  as  the  Scripture  observes  in  a  great  number  oi 
places,  that  is,  as  often  as  it  mentions  any  action, 
though  never  so  inconsiderable.  Hence  it  comes, 
that  in  their  style,  to  rise  early  signifies,  in  general  to 
do  a  thing  sedulously,  and  with  a  good  will  :  thus  it 
is  frequently  said,  that  God  rose  up  early  to  send  the 
prophets  to  his  people,  and  exhort  them  to  repent- 
ance. ||  It  is  a  consequence  of  country  labour.  The 
Greeks  and  Romans  followed  the  same  custom  : 
they  rose  very  early,  and  worked  till  night:  they 
bathed,  supped,  and  went  to  bed  in  good  time. 

*  1  Cfaron.  iv,  14.  The  valley  of  craftsmen  D'Knn  K'i  gi«  chara- 
shim,  translated  vallis  arlificum,  by  the  Vulgate,  Bnn  charash,  signifies 
to  work  in  iron,  wood,  stone,  pottery,  &c.  and  Joab,  the  person  men- 
tioned in  the  text,  b  styled  by  Rabbi  Joseph's  Targum,  the  chief  or 
superintendant  of  the  craftsmen  or  artificers. 

t  Isaiah  iii,  3.  {2  Kings  xxiv,  14.  §  Ezek.  xxvii,  17.  ||  2Chrop. 
xxxvii,  15.  Jerera,  vii,  13.  xi,  7.  xxxv,  11. 


58  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Their  Wearing  Apparel* 

As  to  the  clothes  of  the  Israelites,  we  cannot 
know  exactly  the  shape  of  them.  They  had  no  pic- 
tures or  statues,  and  there  is  no  coming  at  a  right 
notion  of  these  things  without  seeing  them.  But  one 
may  give  a  guess  at  them,  from  the  statues  which 
remain  of  the  Greeks  and  other  nations  :  for  as  to 
modern  pictures,  most  of  them  serve  only  to  give  us 
false  ideas.  I  do  not  speak  only  of  those  Gothic 
paintings,  in  which  every  person,  let  him  have  lived 
where  and  when  he  would,  is  dressed  like  those  the 
painter  was  used  to  see  ;  that  is,  as  the  French  or 
Germans  were  some  hundred  years  ago ;  I  mean  the 
works  of  the  greatest  painters,  except  Raphael,  Pous- 
sin,  and  some  few  others  that  have  thoroughly  studied 
the  manner  or  costume  of  each  age,  as  they  call  it. 
All  the  rest  have  had  no  more  sense  than  to  paint 
the  people  of  the  east  such  as  they  saw  at  Venice, 
or  other  parts  of  Italy  :  and  for  the  stories  of  the 
New  Testament,  they  painted  the  Jews  like  those  of 
their  own  country.  However,  as  most  Scripture 
painting  is  copied  from  these  originals,  we  have 
taken  the  impression  of  it  from  our  infancy,  and  are 
used  to  form  to  ourselves  an  idea  of  the  patriarchs 
with  turbans,  and  beards  down  to  their  waist ;  and 

*  There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  dress  of  the  Jews  was 
similar  to  that  of  the  ancient  Egyptians :  and,  as  many  statues  and 
monuments  of  Egyptian  antiquity  still  remain,  we  may  see  by  them 
what  the  ancient  Jewish  habits  were.  A  tunic  was  the  principal  par! 
of  their  dress :  this  was  made  nearly  in  the  form  of  our  present  shirt. 
A  round  hole  was  cut  at  the  top  merely  to  permit  the  head  to  pass 
through.  Sometimes  it  had  long  sleeves  which  reached  down  to  the 
wrists  :  at  other  times  short  sleeves  which  reached  to  the  elbow,  and 
some  had  very  very  short  sleeves  which  reached  only  to  the  middle  of 
the  upper  arm  ;  and  some  had  no  sleeves  at  all.  The  tunic  was  nearly 
the  same  with  the  Roman  stola,  and  was  in  general' girded  round  the 
waist  or  under  the  breasts  with  the  zona  or  girdle.  Besides  the  tunic. 
they  wore  the  pallium  which  covered  the  shoulders  and  back,  and  way 
the  same  with  the  chlamys  of  the  Greeks.  Indeed  all  these  ancrem 
•nations  seem  to  have  had  nearly  the  same  dress. 


Ch.  VI.]  Their  Apparel  59 

of  the  Pharisees  in  the  gospel  with  hoods  and 
pouches.  There  is  no  great  evil  in  being  deceived 
in  all  this ;  but  it  is  better  not  to  be  deceived,  if  pos- 
sible. 

The  ancients  commonly  wore  long  garments,  as 
most  nations  in  the  world  still  do  ;  and  as  we  our- 
selves did  in  Europe  not  above  two  hundred  years 
ago.  One  may  much  sooner  cover  the  whole  body 
all  at  once,  than  each  part  of  it  singly  ;  and  long 
garments  have  more  dignity  and  gracefulness.  In  hot 
countries  they  always  wore  a  wide  dress,  and  never 
concerned  themselves  about  covering  the  arms  or 
legs,  or  wore  any  thing  upon  the  feet,  but  soles  fasten- 
ed in  different  ways.  Thus  their  dress  took  but  little 
making  :  it  was  only  a  large  piece  of  cloth  shaped 
into  a  garment ;  there  was  nothing  to  cut,  and  not 
much  to  sew.  They  had  likewise  the  art  of  weaving 
gowns  with  sleeves  all  of  one  piece,  and  without 
seam,  as  our  Saviour's  coat  was.* 

The  fashions  never  changed,  nor  do  they  now, 
in  any  part  of  the  east.  And  since  clothes  are  made 
to  cover  the  body,  and  men's  bodies  are  alike  in  all 
ages,  there  is  no  occasion  for  the  prodigious  variety 
of  dresses,  and  such  frequent  changes,  as  we  are 
used  to.  It  is  reasonable  to  seek  that  which  is  most 
convenient,  that  the  body  may  be  sufficiently  defend- 
ed against  the  injuries  of  the  weather,  according  to 
the  climate  and  season,  and  be  at  perfect  liberty  in 
all  its  motions.  There  must  be  a  proper  respect  paid 
to  decency,  age,  sex,  and  profession.  Pne  may  have 
an  eye  likewise  to  the  handsomeness  of  clothes,  pro- 
vided, under  that  pretence,  we  do  not  wear  uneasy 
ornaments,  and  are  contented,  as  the  ancients  were, 
with  agreeable  colours  and  natural  drapery :  but  when 
once  we  have  found  what  is  handsome  and  conve- 
nient, we  ought  by  no  means  to  change. 

Nor  are  they  the  wisest  people  who  invent  new 
fashions  :  they  are  generally  women  and  young  people, 
with  the  assistance  of  mercers,  milliners,  and  taylorst 
*  John  xix,  23, 


60  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part.  II. 

who  have  no  other  view  but  their  own  interest.  Yet 
these  trifles  have  very  grievous  consequences.  The 
expense  occasioned  by  superfluous  ornaments,  and 
the  changing  of  fashions  is  very  hard  upon  most  peo- 
.ple  of  moderate  circumstances,  and  is  one  reason 
that  marrying  is  so  difficult :  it  is  a  continual  source 
of  quarrels  betwixt  the  old  and  young,  and  the  reve- 
rence for  ancient  times  is  much  lessened  by  it. — 
Young  fantastical  people,  when  they  see  their  ances- 
tors' pictures  in  dresses  which  are  only  ridiculous 
because  they  are  not  used  to  them,  can  hardly  believe 
they  were  persons  of  a  good  understanding,  or  their 
maxims  fit  to  be  followed.  In  a  word,  they  that  pretend 
to  be  so  very  nice  and  exact  in  their  dress,  must  spend 
a  great  deal  of  their  time  in  it,  and  make  it  a  study, 
of  no  use  surely  towards  improving  their  minds,  or 
rendering  them  capable  of  great  undertakings. 

As  the  ancients  did  not  change  their  fashions,  the 
rich  had  always  great  quantities  of  clothes  by  them, 
and  were  not  liable  to  the  inconvenience  of  waiting 
for  a  new  suit,  or  having  it  made  up  in  haste.  Lu- 
cullus  had  five  thousand  cloaks  in  his  wardrobe,* 
which  was  a  sort  of  military  dress ;  by  which  we 
may  judge  of  what  he  had  besides.  It  was  common 
to  make  presents  of  clothes  ;  and  then  they  always 
gave  two  suits,  for  change,  and  that  one  might  be 
worn  whilst  the  other  was  washing,  as  we  do  with 
our  sets  of  linen. 

The  stuffs  were  generally  made  of  wool.  In  Egypt 
and  Syria  they  wore  also  fine  linen,  cotton,  and 
byssus,  which  was  finer  than  all  the  rest.  This  byssus, 
which  the  Scripture  so  often  mentions,  is  a  sort  of 

* Chlamydes  Lucullus,  ut  aiunt, 

Si  posset  centum  scenae  praebere  rogatus, 

Qui  possum  tot  ?   ait : . 

post  paulo  scribit,  sibi  millia  quinqite 

Esse  domi  Chlamydum.  HORAT.  Epist.  lib.  1,  E.  vi,  v.  40 — 44. 
As  this  was  a  kind  of  military  dress,  it  is  probable  that  Lucullus  had 
them  principally  for  the  purpose  of  clothing  his  soldiers.  Lucullus 
commanded  the  Roman  armies  against  Mithridates,  king  of  Pontus, 
and  Tigranes,  king  of  Armenia,  and  was  honoured  with  a  triumph  in 
the  year  691 .  He  is  accused  of  being  the  first  who  introduced  luxury 
•>mong  the  Romans, 


Ch.  III.]  Their  .Apparel.  61 

silk,  of  a  golden  yellow,  that  grows  upon  great  shell 
fish.*  As  to  our  silk  made  from  worms,  it  was  un- 
known in  the  time  of  the  Israelites,  and  the  use  of  it 
did  not  become  common  on  this  side  the  Indies,  till 
more  than  five  hundred  years  after  Christ.  The  beauty 
of  their  clothes  consisted  in  the  fineness  and  colour 
of  the  stuff.  The  most  esteemed  were  the  white  and 
the  purple,  red  or  violet.  And,  if  seems,  white  was 
the  colour  most  in  use  among  the  Israelites,  as  well 
as  the  Greeks  and  Romans  ;  since  Solomon  says,  let 
thy  garments  be  always  whiterf  meaning  clean.  No- 
thing in  reality  can  be  plainer  than  to  make  use  of 
wool  or  flax  just  as  nature  produces  it,  without 
dying.  Young  people  of  both  sexes  wore  clothes 
variegated  with  divers  colours.  Such  was  Joseph's 
coat  which  his  brethren  spoiled  him  of  when  they 
sold  him  ;t  and  of  the  same  sort  were  the  gowns 
which  kings'  daughters  wore  in  the  time  of  David. § 

The  ornaments  of  their  habits  were  fringes,  or 
borders  of  purple  or  embroidery,  and  clasps  of  gold 
or  precious  stones,  where  they  were  necessary. 
Greatness  consisted  in  changing  dress  often,  and 
wearing  only  such  clothes  as  were  thoroughly  clean 
and  whole.  Besides,  no  body  will  doubt  that  the 
Israelites  went  very  plain  in  their  dress,  if  we  consi- 
der how  remarkable  the  Greeks  and  Romans  were 
for  it,  even  in  the  time  of  their  greatest  luxury.  We 
see  it  in  ancient  statues,  Trajan's  pillar,  and  other 
pieces  of  sculpture. 

The  garments  commonly  mentioned  in  Scripture 
are  the  tunic  and  mantle  :  and  the  Greek  and  Roman 
dress  consisted  of  these  two  only.||  The  tunic  was 
made  wide,  to  leave  freedom  of  motion  at  work : 
they  loosed  it  when  they  were  unemployed  ;  but 
in  travelling  or  at  work  they  tied  it  up  with  a  girdle. 
Thence  comes  the  phrase  so  frequent  in  Scripture, 
Arise,  gird  up  thy  loins,  and  do  this.  The  Israelites 
were  ordered  to  wear  ribands  of  blue  on  the  borders 

*  Gesner.  Hist.  Anim.  1.   iy,  de  Pinna,     f  Ecctes,  ix,  8.     1  Gen, 
xxxvrt,  32.    §  2  Sam.  x!it>  18.     ||  See  the  note  p.  59. 
6 


62  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  II. 

of  their  garments,  to  make  them  continually  mindful 
of  the  law  of  God.*  They  had  the  head  covered 
with  a  sort  of  tiara,  like  that  of  the  Persians  and 
Chaldeans,  for  it  was  a  sign  of  mourning  to  go  bare- 
headed :  and  they  wore  their  own  hair,  for  to  be 
shaved  was  another  mark  of  affliction.  As  to  the 
beard,  it  is  very  certain  they  wore  it  long,  by  the 
instance  of  the  ambassadors  that  David  sent  to  the 
king  of  the  Ammonites,  half  of  whose  beards  that  ill 
advised  prince  shaved  off  to  affront  them  :f  so  that 
they  were  forced  to  stay  some  time  at  Jericho,  to  let 
their  beards  grow  again,  before  they  could  have  the 
face  to  show  themselves  :  he  also  caused  their  clothes 
to  be  cut  off  in  the  middle,  and  in  such  a  manner  as 
shows  they  wore  them  very  long. 

They  bathed  frequently,  as  is  still  the  custom  in 
hot  countries,  and  washed  their  feet  still  oftener ; 
because,  wearing  nothing  but  sandals,  they  could  not 
walk  without  gathering  much  dust.  Thence  it  comes 
that  the  Scripture  speaks  so  much  of  washing  the 
feet  at  first  coming  into  a  house,  at  sitting  down  to 
victuals,  and  going  to  bed.  Now  because  water  dries 
the  skin  and  hair,  they  anointed  themselves,  either 
with  plain  oil,  or  such  as  had  aromatic  spices  infu- 
sed in  it,  which  was  commonly  called  ointment.  This 
custom  still  prevails  in  the  East  Indies. 

We  see  in  several  parts  of  the  Scripture  after  what 
manner  the  women  dressed  and  adorned  themselves. 
God,  reproaching  Jerusalem  with  her  breaches  of 
faith,  under  the  figure  of  a  husband,  who  has  brought 
his  wife  out  of  the  greatest  misery  to  heap  blessings 
upon  her,  says,  by  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  that  he  has 
given  her  very  fine  stuffs,  and  of  different  colours,  a 
silken  girdle,  purple  shoes,  bracelets,  a  neck-lace, 
earrings,|  and  a  crown  or  rather  mitre,§  such  as  the 

*  Numb,  xv,  38.     f  2  Sam.  x,  4.     }  Ezek.  xvi,  10,  11,  &c. 

§  Ite,  quibus  grata  est  picta  lupa  barbara  mitra.     Juv.  Sat.  iii,  v.  66. 

The  barbarous  harlots  crowd  the  public  place  ; 

Go,  fools,  and  purchase  an  unclean  embrace ; 

The  painted  mitre  court,  and  the  more  painted  face.      DRTD. 
Mitres,  variously  painted  and  ornamented,  arc  still  used  by  the 
ivonrenof  the  east. 


€h.  VIL]     Their  Houses  and  Furniture.  63 

Syrian  women  used  a  great  while  after  ;  that  he 
adorned  her  with  gold  and  silver,  and  the  most  costly 
raiment.  When  Judith  dressed  herself  to  go  to  Ho- ' 
lofernes,  it  is  said  that  she  washed  and  anointed 
herself,  that  she  braided  her  hair,  and  put  attire  upon 
her  head  ;  that  she  put  on  her  garments  of  gladness, 
with  sandals  upon  her  feet,  and  adorned  herself  with 
bracelets,  earrings,  and  rings  upon  her  fingers.*  In 
a  word,  we  cannot  desire  a  more  particular  account 
of  these  female  ornaments  than  what  we  read  in 
Isaiah  when  he  reproaches  the  daughters  of  Sion  with 
their  vanity  and  luxury  ;f  for  corruption  was  theu 
got  to  the  highest  pitch. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Their  Houses  and  Furniture. 

THERE  was  occasion  for  much  less  furniture  iu 
those  hot  countries  than  in  ours  :  and  their  plainness 
in  all  other  respects  give  us  reason  to  think  they 
had  but  little.  The  law  often  speaks  of  wooden 
and  earthen  vessels  ;  and  earthen  ware  was  very 
common  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  before 
luxury  had  crept  in  among  them.  They  are  men- 
tioned among  the  things  that  were  brought  for  the 
refreshment  of  David,  during  the  war  with  Absalom.J 
We  see  the  furniture  that  was  thought  necessary,  in 
the  words  of  the  Shunamite  woman  who  lodged  the 
prophet  Elisha :  Let  us  make,  said  she  to  her  husband, 
a  little  chamber  for  the  man  of  God,  and  set  for  him  there 
a  bed,  a  table,  a  stool,  and  a  candlestick.^  Their  beds 
were  no  more  than  couches  without  curtains,  except 
they  were  such  light  coverings  as  the  Greeks  called 
canopies, ||  because  they  served  to  keep  off  the  gnats. 
The  great  people  had  ivory  bedsteads,**  as  the  prophet 
Amos  reproaches  the  wealthy  in  his  time  ;  and  they 
that  were  most  delicate  made  their  beds  very  soft, 

*  Judith  x,  3,  &c.  f  Isaiah  iii,  1 6,  &c.  {  2  Sam.  xvii,  28.  §2  Kings 
iv,  10.  l|  Konopeion  from  Kuvtan^,  a  gnat.  **  Amos  vi,  4. 


64  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II. 

decked  them  with  rich  stuffs,  and  sprinkled  them  with 
odoriferous  waters.*  They  placed  the  beds  against 
the  wall ;  for  it  is  said,  when  Hezekiah  was  threat- 
ened that  he  should  die  soon,  he  turned  his  face  to 
the  wall  to  weep.f 

The  candlestick  mentioned  among  Elisha's  furni- 
ture was,  probably,  one  of  those  great  ones  that  were 
set  upon  the  ground  to  hold  one  or  more  lamps.:}: 
Till  then,  and  a  long  while  after,  even  in  the  time  of 
the  Romans,  they  burnt  nothing  but  oil  to  give  light. 
Thence  it  is  so  common  in  Scripture  to  call  every- 
thing that  enlightens  the  body  or  mind,  whatever 
guides  or  refreshes,  by  the  name  of  lamp.  There 
is  not  much  reason  to  think  they  had  tapestry  in  their 
houses.  They  have  occasion  for  little  in  hot  coun- 
tries, because  bare  walls  are  cooler.  They  make  use 
only  of  carpets  to  sit  and  lie  u^>on,  and  Ezekiel  speaks 
of  them  among  the  merchandise  which  the  Arabians 
brought  to  Tyre.§  They  are  also  mentioned  among 
the  things  provided  for  David's  refreshment,  which 
would  incline  one  to  think  the  Israelites  used  them 
in  camp,  for  in  houses  they  had  chairs.  || 

Their  houses  differed  from  ours  in  all  that  we  see 
still  in  hot  countries.  Their  roofs  are  flat,  the  win- 
dows closed  with  lattices  or  curtains,  they  have  no 
chimneys,  and  lie  for  the  most  part  on  a  ground  floor. 

We  have  a  great  many  proofs  in  Scripture  that 
roofs  were  flat  in  and  about  the  land  of  Israel.  Rahab 
hid  the  spies  of  Joshua  upon  the  roof  of  the  house.** 
When  Samuel  acquainted  Saul  that  God  had  chosen 
him  to  be  king,  he  made  him  lie  all  night  upon  the 

*  Prov.  vii,  16,  17.     t  2  Kings  xx,  2. 

$  I  have  now  before  me  a  cast  from  a  lamp,  brought  by  Mr.  Jack- 
son, (author  of  A  Journey  from  India  overland,  &c.  8vo.  Lond.  1799,) 
from  the  ruins  of  Herculaneum  ;  it  is  circular,  22  inches  in  diameter, 
and  contains  places  for  twelve  lights.  The  oil  is  put  into  a  large 
cavity  in  the  centre  which  is  covered  with  a  lid,  and  with  this  cavity 
all  the  wick  places  communicate.  It  is  finely  ornamented  on  the  top, 
with  the  thyrses  and  masks  alternately  placed.  As  there  are  no  orna- 
ments on  the  under  side,  it  is  evidently  one  of  that  kind  mentioned 
above,  which  stood  upon  a  table,  or  was  placed  on  the  ground. 

§  Ezek.  xxvii,  24.  ||  2  Sam.  xvii,  23,  where  they  are  termed  bcfc 
orcoucftes.  **Josh.  ii?  6, 


(Jh.  VII.]     Their  Houses  and  Furniture.  65 

roof  of  the  house,  which  is  still  usual  in  hot  coun- 
tries.* David  was  walking  upon  the  roof  of  his 
palace,  when  he  saw  Bathsheba  bathing. f  When 
Absalom  had  rebelled  against  his  father,  he  caused  a 
tent  to  be  raised  upon  the  roof  of  the  same  palace, 
where  he  lay  with  his  father's  concubines 4  This 
action  was  in  a  manner  taking  possession  of  the  king- 
dom, and  made  public,  to  show  that  he  was  deter- 
mined never  to  return  to  his  duty  They  ran  to  the 
toj3s  of  their  houses  upon  great  alarms,  as  is  plain 
from  two  passages  in  Isaiah. §  All  this  shows  the 
reason  of  the  law,  that  ordered  a  battlement  to  be 
raised  quite  round  the  roof,  lest  any  body  should  fall 
down  and  be  killed, ||  and  explains  the  expression  in 
the  gospel,  what  you  have  heard  in  the  ear,  publish  on 
the  house-tops.  Every  house  was  a  scaffold  ready 
built  for  any  one  that  had  a  mind  to  make  himself 
heard  at  a  distance. 

The  casements  of  windows  are  taken  notice  of 
in  the  Proverbs,**  the  Song  of  Solomon,tf  and  the 
story  of  the  death  of  Ahaziah  king  of  Israel4j: 

When  king  Jehoiakim  burnt  the  book  which  Je- 
remiah had  written  by  the  order  of  God,  he  was 
sitting  in  his  winter  house,  with  a  fire  on  the  hearth 
burning  before  him.§§  Whence  one  may  judge  they 
had  no  chimneys  ;||||  which  indeed  are  the  invention 

*  1  Sam.  ix,  25.  f  2  Sam.  xi,  2.  J  2  Sam.  xvi,  22.  §  Isaiah  xv,  3, 
and  xxi,  1.  ||  Deut.  xxii,  8.  **  Prov.  vii,  6.  tt  Song  of  Sol.  ii,  9. 
U  2  Kings  i,  2.  §§Jer.  xxxvi,  22. 

||  ||  The  fire  which  the  king  had  before  him,  is  supposed  to  have  been 
in  a  moveable  stove,  whence  the  Vulgate  translates  it,  anda  coram  eo, 
plena  prums  ;  and  therefore  had  no  fixt  chimney  to  it.  And  that  the 
ancients  had  none,  has  been  asserted  by  several  of  the  learned,  par- 
ticularly by  Manutius,  in  Cic-  Fam.  1.  vii,  ep.  x,  and  Lipsius,  Ep.  ad 
Belgas,  iii,  75,  and  that  the  smoke  went  out  at  the  windows,  or  at  the 
tops  of  the  houses.  Cato,  de  Re  Rust.  c.  xviii,  says,  focum  purum 
r'reumversum,  pnusquam  cubitum  eat,  habeat.  The  hearth  could  no' 
'ic  swept  round,  if  it  was,  as  with  us,  built  in  a  chimney.  Colurnella. 
1.  xi,  c.  ult.  speaks  of  the  smoke  adhering  to  the  ceilings  over  tin- 
hearth :  Fuligo,  qu<K  supra  focos  tectis  inharet,  colligi  debet.  Sonera, 
ep.  90,  describes  stove  tubes,  then  lately  invented,  placed  round  the 
walls  of  the  rooms,  to  throw  an  equal  warmth  into  them.  On  tin 
other  hand,  Dan.  Barbaras,  in  his  comment  on  Vitruvius,  and  Ferra- 
rius,  i,  9,  maintain  that  they  often  had  chimneys :  but  only  in  tlu 

6* 


66  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  II, 

of  cold  countries.  In  hot  climates  they  were  satisfied 
with  stoves  for  the  kitchen.  They  made  use  of  stone 
in  building,  especially  at  Jerusalem,  where  it  was 
very  common,  and  they  knew  how  to  cut  it  into 
very  large  pieces.  There  is  mention  made,  in  Solo- 
mon's buildings,  of  stones  eight  or  ten  cubits  long, 
that  is,  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  ;*  and  those  called 
costly  stones  are  doubtless,  different  sorts  of  marble. f 
The  beauty  of  their  buildings  consisted  less  in 
ornaments  placed  in  certain  parts,  than  in  the  whole 
model ;  in  cutting  and  joining  the  stones,  they  took 
care  to  have  all  even  and  well  dressed  by  the  level 
and  square.  This  is  what  Homer  says  of  the  build- 
ing he  commends,  and  this  sort  of  beauty  is  still 
admired  in  the  ancient  Egyptian  edifices.  The  Israel- 
ites made  use  of  fragrant  woods,  as  cedar  and  cy- 
press, to  wainscot  the  inside  of  the  most  pompous 
buildings,  and  out  of  these  they  made  the  ceiling 
and  pillars.:}:  This  was  used  in  the  temple,  and  Solo- 
mon's palaces  :§  and  David  says,  that  he  dwells  in  a 
house  of  cedar,  ||  to  express  the  magnificence  of  his 
apartments. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Their  Diet. 

**"  As  to  what  regards  the  table,  the  Israelites  ate 
sitting,  as  the  Greeks  did  in  Homer's  time  :  and  it  is 

upper  rooms,  in  cceriationibus,  which  is  a  reason  why  no  remains  ol 
them  are  found,  the  highest  stories  first  falling  to  ruin.  Aristophanes, 
Vesp.  i,  2,  8,  introduces  an  old  man,  shut  up  by  his  son,  endeavouring 
to  escape  up  the  chimney.  Herodot.  vii,  p.  578,  579,  mentions  the 
•*un  shining  upon  the  hearth  down  the  chimney :  and  Appian  B.  C. 
•iv,  says,  some  of  the  proscribed  hid  themselves  in  jakes,  some  in 
wells,  some  in  chimneys.  The  reader  may  see  more  in  the  above- 
cited  authors.  E.  F.. 

*  Josephus  says,  that  the  stones  with  which  the  temple  was  built, 
"  were  white  and  strong,  fifty  feet  long,  twenty-four  broad,  and  sixteen 
in  thickness,"  Antiq.  b.  xv,  c.  xi.  Our  Lord's  disciples  are  represented 
as  struck  with  wonder  at  seeing  such  immense  masses  wrought  up  in 
the  walls  of  the  temple.  Mark  xiii,  1. 

f  I  Kings  vii,  9, 10.    1 2  Sam.  v,  11.    §  Song  of  Sol.  Hi,  6.    ||2Sam. 


Ch  VIII.]  Their  Diet.  67 

necessary  to  take  notice  of  it,  to  distinguish  one 
period  from  another.  For  afterward,  that  is  to  say, 
from  the  reign  of  the  Persians,  they  ate  lying  upon 
beds,*  as  the  Persians  and  other  eastern  people  did  ; 
from  whom  the  Greeks  and  Romans  also  took  the 
custom.  Regular  people  did  not  eat  till  after  their 
work,  and  pretty  late.  Wherefore,  eating  and  drink- 
ing early  in  the  morning  signify  intemperance  and 
debauchery  in  Scripture. f  Their  food  was  plain. 
They  commonly  mention  only  eating  bread  and 
drinking  water  ;  which  is  the  reason  that  the  word 
bread  is  generally  taken  in  Scripture  for  all  sorts  of 
victuals.  They  broke  their  bread  without  cutting  it, 
because  they  made  use  of  none  but  small,  long  taper 
rolls,  as  is  still  done  in  several  countries.:]:  The  first 
favour  that  Boaz  showed  Ruth,  was  to  let  her  drink 
of  the  same  water  with  his  young  men,  and  come  and 
eat  with  them,  and  dip  her  morsel  in  the  vinegar  :§ 
and  we  see,  by  the  compliments  she  made  in  return, 
that  this  was  no  small  favour. 

We  may  judge  of  their  most  common  provisions 
by  the  refreshment  David  received  at  different  times 
from  Abigail,  Ziba,  and  Barzillai,  and  by  what  was 
brought  to  him  at  Hebron.  ||  The  sorts  there  men- 
tioned are  bread  and  wine,  wheat  and  barley,  flour  of 
both,  beans,  lentiles,  parched  corn,  raisins,  dried  figs, 
honey,  butter,  oil,  sheep,  oxen  and.  fat  calves.  There  is 
in  this  account  a  great  deal  of  corn  and  pulse,  which 
was  also  the  most  common  food  of  the  ancient  Egyp- 
tians, and  of  the  Romans  in  the  best  times,  when  they 
gave  themselves  most  to  husbandry.  Hence  came 
the  illustrious  names  of  Fabius,  Piso,  Cicero,  and 
Lentulus.**  The  advice  of  the  wise  man  shows  the 

*  Esther  i,  6,  7,  8.     f  Isaiah  v.  11. 

t  Or  rather  thin  crisp  perforated  cakes,  called  in  Scripture  tTipj 
naicudeem,  such  as  the  Jews  frequently  make  to  the  present  day,  and 
which  are  still  common  in  the  east. 

§  Ruth  ii,  9,  14.     ||  1  Sam.  xxv.  18.  2  Sam.  xvi,  1,  xvii,  23. 

**  Clem.  Alex,  2  Pa-dag.  I.  in  sine.  See  also  Plin.  Hist.  Nat.  lib. 
xviii,  c.  3,  where  he  shows  that  the  Pihimni  were  so  called  for  having 
invented  the  pestle,  the  Pisones  from  pounding  the  corn :  the  Fabiit 
Cicerones  and  Lentidi  from  their  delighting  to  sow  and  rear  beam, 
vetches  and  lentiles. 


68  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  If. 

use  the  Israelites  made  of  milk.  Take  care,  says  he, 
that  thou  have  goafs  milk  enough  for  thy  food.,  for 
the  food  of  thy  household,  and  for  maintenance  to  thy 
maidens* 

Though;  it  was  lawful  to  eat  fish,  I  do  not  find  that 
it  is  mentioned  till  the  later  times.  It  is  believed  the 
ancients  despised  it,  as  too  dainty  and  light  food  for 
robust  men.f  Neither  does  Homer  speak  of  it,  or 
the  Greeks,  in  what  they  write  relating  to  the  heroic 
times.  We  hear  but  little  of  .sauces,  or  high-season- 
ed dishes  among  the  Hebrews.  Their  feasts  con- 
sisted of  substantial  wellfed  meat ;  and  they  reckon- 
ed milk  and  honey  their  greatest  dainties.  Indeed, 
before  sugar  was  brought  from  the  Indies,  there  was 
nothing  known  more  agreeable  to  the  taste  than 
honey.  They  preserved  fruits  in  it,  and  mixed  it  in 
the  nicest  pastry.  Instead  of  milk,  they  often  men- 
tion butter,  that  is,  cream,  which  is  the  finest  part  of 
it.  The  offerings  prescribed  by  the  law  show,  that 
ever  since  the  time  of  Moses,  they  had  divers  sorts  of 
pastry,^  some  kneaded  with  oil  others  without  it. 

And  here  we  must  not  omit  the  distinction  of  meats 
allowed  or  forbidden  by  the  law.  It  was  not  peculiar 
to  the  Hebrews  to  abstain  from  certain  animals  out 
of  a  religious  principle ;  the  neighbouring  people  did 
the  same.  Neither  the  Syrians  nor  Egyptians  ate 
any  fish  ;  and  some  have  thought  it  was  superstition 
that  made  the  ancient  Greeks  not  eat  it.  The  Egyp- 
tians of  Thebes  would  eat  no  mutton,  because  they 
worshipped  Ammon  under  the  shape  of  a  ram  :§  but 
they  killed  goats.  In  other  places  they  abstained 
from  goats'  flesh,  and  sacrificed  sheep.  The  Egyp- 
tian priests  used  no  meat  nor  drink  imported  from 
foreign  countries  :||  and  as  to  the  product  of  their 
own,  besides  fish,  they  abstained  from  beasts  that 
have  a  round  foot,  or  divided  into  several  toes,  or 
that  have  no  horns  ;  and  birds  that  live  upon  flesh. 
Many  would  eat  nothing  that  had  life  :  and  in  the 

*  Prov.  xxvii,  27.  |  Plato,  Rep.  iii.  J  Lev.  ii,  4,  5,  &c.  §  Herod,  ii. 
jl  Porphyr.  Abstin.  iv. 


Ch.  VIII.]  Their  Diet.  69 

times  of  their  purification  they  would  not  touch  so 
much  as  eggs,  herbs,  or  garden  stuff.  None  of  the 
Egyptians  would  eat  beans.*  They  accounted  swine 
unclean :  whoever  touched  one  though  in  passing  by, 
washed  himself  and  his  clothes.  Socrates,  in  his 
Commonwealth,  reckons  eating  swine's  flesh  among 
the  superfluous  things  introduced  by  luxury  ;f  In- 
deed, they  are  of  no  use  but  for  the  table.  Every 
body  knows  that  the  Indian  Bramins  still  neither  eat 
nor  kill  any  sort  of  animal,  and  it  is  certain  they  have 
not  done  it  for  more  than  two  thousand  years. 

The  law  of  Moses  then  had  nothing  new  or  extraor- 
dinary in  this  point :  the  design  of  it  was  to  keep  the 
people  within  reasonable  bounds,  and  to  prevent  their 
imitating  the  superstitions  of  some  other  nations,  with- 
out leaving  them  quite  at  liberty,  of  which  they  might 
have  made  abad  use.  Forthis  abstinence  from  particu- 
lar sorts  of  meat  contributed  to  the  preservation  both  of 
their  health  and  morals.  It  was  not  only  to  tame  their 
untractable  spirit  that  God  imposed  this  yoke,  but  to- 
wean  them  from  things  that  might  be  prejudicial. £ 
They  were  forbidden  to  eat  blood  or  fat  :  both  are 
hard  of  digestion  :  and  though  strong  working  peo- 
ple, as  the  Israelites,  might  find  less  inconvenience 
from  it  than  others,  it  was  better  to  provide  whole- 
some food  for  them,  since  it  was  a  matter  of  option. 
Swine's  flesh  lies  heavy  upon  the  stomach,  and  affords 
a  very  gross  species  of  nutriment  :  so  do  fish  that 
have  no  scales.  The  solid  part  is  fat  and  oily,  whe- 
ther it  be  tender,  as  that  of  eels,  or  hard,  as  that  of 
tunny,  whale,  or  others  of  the  same  kind.  Thus  we 
may  easily  account  for  most  of  these  things  being 
forbidden,  as  Clemens  Alexandrinus  has  observed. § 

As  to  the  moral  reasons,  all  sensible  people  have 
ever  reckoned  gluttony  a  vice  that  ought  principally 
to  be  guarded  against,  as  the  beginning  of  most 
others.  The  Socratic  philosophers  strongly  recom- 
mended temperance  :  and  Plato  despaired  of  reform- 

*  Herod,  ii.    f  Plato  ii,  Rep.     t  See  the  note  on  p.  18.     §  2  Psed.  1 
P assian.  Instit.  5. 


70  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II. 

ing  the  manners  of  the  Sicilians,  so  long  as  they  ate 
two  great  meals  a  day.* 

It  is  supposed,  that  what  Pythagoras  aimed  at  by 
enjoining  abstinence,  was  to  make  men  just  and  dis- 
interested, in  using  themselves  to  live  on  a  little. 
Now,  one  of  the  chief  branches  of  gluttony  is  a  desire 
of  variety  of  dishes.  Too  much  soon  palls,  but,  as 
variety  is  infinite,  the  desire  after  it  is  insatiable. 
Tertullian  comprehends  all  these  reasons  in  the  fol- 
lowing passage  :  "  If  the  law  takes  away  the  use 
of  some  sorts  of  meat,  and  pronounces  creatures 
unclean  that  were  formerly  held  quite  otherwise,  let 
us  consider  that  the  design  is  to  inure  them  to  tem- 
perance, and  look  upon  it  as  a  restraint  laid  upon  glut- 
tons, who  hankered  after  the  cucumbers  and  melons 
of  Egypt,  whilst  they  were  eating  the  food  of  angels. 
Let  us  consider  it  too  as  a  remedy  at  the  same  time 
against  excess  and  impurity,  the  usual  attendants  of 
gluttony.  It  was  partly  likewise  to  extinguish  the 
Jove  of  money,  by  taking  away  the  pretence  of  its 
being  necessary  tor  providing  of  sustenance.  It  was> 
finally,  to  enable  men  to  fast  with  less  inconvenience 
upon  religious  occasions,  by  using  them  to  a  mode- 
rate  and  plain  diet."f 

CHAPTER   IX. 

Their  Purifications. 

THE  purifications  prescribed  by  the  law  had  the 
same  foundation  as  the  distinction  of  meats.  The 
neighbouring  people  practised  some  of  the  like  na- 
ture :  among  others  the  Egyptians,  whose  priests 
shaved  off  all  their  hair  every  three  days,  and  wash- 
ed their  bodies  all  over  twice  in  the  night,  and  two 
or  three  times  a  day .|  The  legal  purifications  of 

*  Plat.  Ep.  vii,  in  Init.  But  had  he  lived  in  these  latter  times,  how 
great  must  his  astonishment  have  been,  to  find  persons,  Christians, 
professing  the  utmost  purity  of  manners  and  elevation  of  mind,  feed- 
ing themselves  four,  yea,  six  or  seven  times  in  the  day  ! 

t  Tertullian  adv.  Marc.  lib.  ii,  cap.  18,  in  fine.  }  Herod.  I.  ii,  Pnr 
phyr.  de  Abstin. 


Ch.  IX.]  Their  Purifications.  71 

the  Israelites  were  of  advantage  in  preserving  both 
their  health  and  morals.  The  cleanness  of  the  body 
is  a  symbol  of  the  purity  of  the  soul :  which  is  the 
reason  that  some  devout  people  have  affected  to  be 
dirty,  to  make  themselves  more  despicable,  and  to 
show  the  plainer  by  their  outward  appearance,  the 
abhorrence  they  had  of  their  sins.  Thence  too,  ex- 
ternal purification  is  called  sanctification,  because  it 
makes  those  observe,  at  least,  an  outward  purity, 
who  draw  near  to  holy  things.  Nay,  one  may  ven- 
ture to  say,  that  cleanliness  is  a  natural  consequence 
of  virtue ;  since  filthiness,  for  the  most  part,  proceeds 
only  from  sloth  and  meanness  of  spirit.* 

Besides,  cleanliness  is  necessary  to  preserve  health 
and  prevent  sickness,  especially  in  hot  countries  ; 
accordingly  we  find  people  generally  cleanlier  there. 
Heat  inclines  them  to  strip  themselves,  to  bathe,  and 
often  change  their  clothes.  But  in  the  cold  coun- 
tries we  are  afraid  both  of  the  air  and  water,  and  are 
more  benumbed  and  sluggish.  It  is  certain,  the  nasti- 
ness  in  which  most  of  our  lower  sort  of  people  live, 
especially  the  poorest  and  those  that  are  in  towns, 
either  causes  or  increases  many  distempers.  What 
would  be  the  consequence  then  in  hot  countries, 
where  the  air  is  sooner  corrupted,  and  the  water 
more  scarce  ?  Besides,  the  ancients  made  but  little 
use  of  linen ;  and  woollen  is  not  so  easy  to  be 
cleansed. 

Here  let  us  admire  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of 
God,  who  gave  his  people  laws  that  were  usefol  so 
many  different  ways  :  for  they  served  altogether  to 
inure  them  to  obedience,  to  keep  them  from  super- 
stition, to  improve  their  manners,  and  preserve  their 
health.  Thus,  in  the  formation  of  plants  and  ani- 
mals, we  see  many  parts  serve  for  different  uses. 
Now,  it  was  a  matter  of  consequence  that  the  pre- 
cepts that  enjoined  cleanliness  should  make  a  part 

f  A  great  man  has  asserted,  "  That  cleanliness  is  next  to  godliness." 
And  we  generally  find  cleanliness  practised  in  proportion  to  the  pre- 
valence of  the  spirit  of  genuine  piety.  Christianity  disowns  the  sloth- 
ful and  the  filthy,  as  well  as  the  dishonest  and  the  impure. 


72  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  II. 

of  their  religion ;  for  as  they  related  to  what  was 
done  within  doors,  and  the  most  secret  actions  of  life, 
nothing  but  the  fear  of  God  could  keep  the  people 
from  transgressing  them.  Yet  God  formed  their 
conscience  by  these  sensible  things,  and  made  it  fa- 
miliar to  them  to  own  that  nothing  is  hidden  from 
him,  and  that  it  is  not  sufficient  to  be  pure  in  the 
eyes  of  men  alone.  Tertullian  understands  these 
laws  so  when  he  says,  "  He  has  prescribed  every 
thing,  even  in  the  common  transactions  of  life,  and 
the  behaviour  of  men  both  at  home  and  abroad,  so 
far  as  to  take  notice  of  their  very  furniture  and  ves- 
sels :  so  that  meeting  every  where  the  precepts  of 
the  law,  they  might  not  be  one  moment  without  the 
fear  of  God  before  them."  And  afterward,  "to  aid 
this  law,  which  was  rather  light  than  burdensome,  the 
same  goodness  of  God  also  instituted  prophets,  who 
taught  maxim's  worthy  of  him.*  '  Wash  ye,  make  ye 
clean,  put  away  the  evil  of  your  doings  from  before  mine 
eyes,  &c.'  "f  So  that  the  people  were  sufficiently  in- 
structed in  the  meaning  of  all  these  ceremonies,  and 
outward  performances. 

This  is  the  foundation  of  those  laws  which  order 
bathing  and  washing  one's  clothes  after  having  touch- 
ed a  dead  body,  or  unclean  creature,  and  upon  seve- 
ral other  accidents.:}:  Thence  comes  the  purifying 
of  vessels  by  water  or  fire,  and  of  houses  where 
there  appeared  any  corruption,  and  of  women  after 
child-bearing,  and  the  separation  of  lepers  ;§  though 
the  white  leprosy,  which  is  the  only  sort  mentioned 
in  Scripture,  is  rather  a  deformity  than  an  infectious 
disease.  || 

It  belonged  to  the  priests  to  separate  lepers,  to 
judge  of  other  legal  impurities,  and  order  the  man- 
ner of  their  cleansing.  Thus  they  practised  a  branch 
of  physic ;  and  though  physicians  are  sometimes 
mentioned  in  Scripture,**  it  is  probable  surgeons  are 

*In  Marc.  1.  ii,  c.  19.  t  Isaiah  i,  16.  JLev.  xi,  24,  &c.  ifiii, 
58.  Numb,  xxxi,  23.  §Lev.  xiv,48.  Ib.  xii,  1,  &c.  Ib.  xiii,  1,  &c. 
i!  Aug.  ii,  Quaest.  Evang.  40.  **  Gen.  1, 2.  2  Chron.  xvL  12.  Job  xiii. 
4.  Jer.  viii,  22.  Isaiah  iii,  7. 


Ch.  IX.]  Their  Purificatidns.  73 

meant :  for  the  ancients  made  no  distinction  betwixt 
these  two  professions.  The  law  speaks  of  them  when 
it  condemns  him  that  hurts  another  to  pay  the  physi- 
cian's charges  :*  and  in  other  places  we  read  of 
bandages,  plasters,  and  ointments  ;f  but  nowhere, 
that  I  can  tell,  of  purges,  or  a  course  of  physic.  King 
Asa,  who  had  the  gout,  is  blamed  for  putting  too 
much  confidence  in  physicians.  |  Perhaps  the  Israel- 
ites still  followed  the  same  maxims,  as  the  Greeks  of 
the  heroic  ages,  when  physicians,  as  Plato  informs 
us,§  applied  themselves  to  nothing  but  healing  wounds 
by  topical  remedies,  without  prescribing  a  regimen ; 
supposing  that  other  illnesses  would  be  prevented  or 
easily  got  over  by  a  good  constitution,  and  the  pru- 
dent management  of  the  sick.  As  for  wounds,  they 
must  of  necessity  happen  sometimes  from  divers  ac- 
cidents, even  in  the  course  of  hard  labour  only. 

The  Israelites  avoided  conversing  with  strangers, 
and  it  was  a  consequence  of  those  laws  that  enjoin- 
ed purifications  and  distinction  of  meats.  For  though 
most  of  their  neighbours  had  similar  customs,  they 
were  not  altogether  the  same.  Thus,  an  Israelite 
had  always  a  right  to*  presume,  that  any  stranger  he 
met  with  had  eaten  swine's  flesh,  or  the  sacrifices 
offered  to  idols,  or  had  touched  some  unclean  beast. 
Whence  it  came,  that  it  was  not  lawful  to  eat  with 
them,  nor  to  go  into  their  houses.  This  distance  was 
also  of  consequence  to  their  morals,  serving  as  a 
fence  against  too  great  a  familiarity  with  strangers, 
which  is  always  pernicious  to  the  generality,  and 
which  was  still  more  so  at  that  time  because  of  idola- 
try. The  Egyptians  were  strict  observers  of  this 
maxim  :  the  Scripture  takes  notice  that  they  would 
not  eat  with  the  Hebrews  ;||  and  Herodotus  says, 
they  would  neither  salute  a  Greek,  nor  make  use  of 
his  knife  or  plate.**  The  Mohammedans  have  several 

*  Exod.  xxi,  19.  t  Isaiah  i,  6.  Jerem.  viii,  22.  xlvi,ll.  12Chron. 
xvi,  12.  §  iii,  Rep.  ||  Gen.  xliii,  32. 

**  Herod,  ii.  This  superstition  the  Egyptians  carried  so  far  that 
they  would  not  eat  the  flesh  even  of  a  clean  animal,  that  had  been  cut 
up  with  the  knife  of  a  Greek. 

7 


74  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II 

customs  of  the  same  nature  at  this  day ;  but  the  Hin- 
doos have  more,  and  observe  them  with  the  greatest 
superstition.* 

They  did  not  keep  at  an  equal  distance  from  all 
sorts  of  strangers,  though  they  comprehended  them 
all  under  the  name  of  Goimor  Gentiles.  They  abhor- 
red all  idolaters,  especially  those  that  were  not  cir- 
cumcised :  for  they  were  not  the  only  people  that 
practised  circumcision ;  it  was  used  by  all  the  de- 
scendants of  Abraham,  as  the  Ishmaelites,  Midianites, 
and  Idumeans ;  and  the  Ammonites  and  Moabites 
that  were  descended  from  Lot.  The  Egyptians 
themselves,  though  their  original  was  in  no  case  the 
same  with  the  Hebrews,  looked  upon  circumcision 
as  a  necessary  purification,  and  held  those  unclean 
that  were  not  circumcised,  f  As  for  the  Israelites, 
they  bore  with  the  uncircumcised  that  worshipped 
the  true  God,  so  far  as  to  let  them  dwell  in  their 
land,  provided  they  observed  the  laws  of  nature,  and 
abstinence  from  blood.  But  if  they  got  themselves 
circumcised,  they  were  reputed  children  of  Abraham, 
and  consequently  obliged  to  observe  the  whole  law 
of  Moses.  The  rabbins  call  these  last  proselytes  of 
justice;  and  the  faithful  that  were  not  circumcised, 
they  call  proselytes  by  abode,  or  Noachides,^  as  being 
obliged  to  observe  no  precepts  but  those  that  God 
gave  to  Noah  when  he  came  out  of  the  ark.  In  Solo- 
mon's time  there  were  one  hundred  and  fifty-three 
thousand  six  hundred  proselytes  in  the  land  of  Israel. § 

The  strangers  that  the  Israelites  were  most  of  all 
obliged  to  avoid,  were  the  nations  that  lay  under  a 
curse,  as  descended  from  Canaan,  whom  God  had. 
commanded  them  to  root  out.  I  find  none  but  them, 
as  I  said  before,  with  whom  it  was  not  lawful  to 

*  For  several  of  these  customs  see  the  supplementary  chapter. 

f  Herod,  lib.  2,  p.  116,  edit.  Steph.  1592.  The  same  author  says, 
that  the  Colchians,  Egyptians,  and  Ethiopians,  are  the  only  nations  in 
the  world  who  have  used  circumcision  from  the  remotest  period,  am' 
*fXT>{ :  and  that  the  Phoenicians  and  the  Syrians  who  inhabit  Pales- 
tine, acknowledge  they  received  this  from  the  Egyptian?.  Ibid.  p.  143. 

i  Selden  dc  Jure  Nat.    §  2  Chron.  ii,  17. 


Ch.  IX.]  Their  Purifications.  75 

marry.*  Moses  married  a  Midianite.f  Boaz  is  com- 
mended for  having  married  Ruth  the  Moabite.  Absa- 
lom's mother  was  the  king  of  Geshur's  daughter.:}: 
Amasa  was  the  son  of  an  Ishmaelite,  and  of  Abigail, 
David's  sister.  §  Solomon  married  the  king  of  Egypt's 
daughter,  soon  after  he  came  to  the  crown,  and  at 
the  time  when  he  was  most  in  God's  favour  :||  there- 
fore what  the  Scripture  afterward  says,  to  blame  his 
marrying  with  strange  women,  must  be  understood 
of  the  Canaanitish  woman  whom  he  married,  and 
that,  instead  of  endeavouring  to  convert  them,  he 
paid  them  such  a  criminal  complaisance  as  to  wor- 
ship their  idols.** 

Much  more  were  marriages  free  among  the  Israel- 
ites, and  it  was  not  necessary  for  every  one  to  mar- 
ry in  his  own  tribe,  as  many,  even  of  the  fathers  of 
the  church,  have  thought.  This  law  was  peculiar 
to  heiresses,  that  inheritances  might  not  be  con- 
founded, ff  Besides,  David  married  Michal  the 
daughter  of  Saul,  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  :  and  ano- 
ther of  his  wives  was  Ahinoam  of  Jezreel,  a  city  of 
the  tribe  of  Ephraim.  2  Sam.  iii,  2. 

SUPPLEMENT  TO  CHAPTER  IX. 

On  the  Purifications  of  the  Hindoos  and  Mohamme- 
dans.    Referred  to  p.  74. 

PURIFICATIONS  among  the  Hindoos  make  an  es- 
sential part  of  religion.  Several  of  those  at  present 

*  Exod.  xxxiv,  16.     Deut.  vii,  3. 

t  If  our  author's  comment  be  right,  Dr.  Warburton  is  mistaken  1n 
saying  Solomon  transgressed  a  law  of  Moses,  when  he  married  Pha- 
raoh's daughter.  Div.  Leg.  book  iv,  sect,  v,  2d  edit.  And  Dr.  Jor- 
tin  might  less  admire  Theodoret's  parallel  between  Moses  and  Christ, 
in  that  the  former  married  an  Ethiopian  woman,  and  the  latter  espou- 
sed the  church  of  the  Gentiles.  There  was  nothing  so  particular  in 
the  marriage  of  Moses  :  and  if  there  had  been,  the  similitude,  I  think, 
would  have  been  closer,  if  Moses  had  married  two  wives,  for  the  Jews 
were  the  firstfruits  of  the  gospel.  See  Dr.  Jortin's  Remarks  on  £ccto. 
Hist.  vol.  i,  p.  209.  E.  F. 

1 2  Sam.  iii,  3.    §  1  Chron.  ii,  17.    ||  1  Kings  iii,  1.    **  1  Kings  xi,  1. 

ft  Heiresses  were  obliged  to  marry  not  only  within  their  own  tribe, 
but  within  their  own/am%,  Numb,  xxxvi,  6.  Let  them  marry  to  whom 
they  think  best,  only  to  the  FAMILY  of  the  TRIBE  (or  HOUSE)  of  their 


76  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  II. 

in  use  among  this,  people,  are  dictated  by  common 
sense  and  expediency  ;  but  the  far  greater  part  are 
the  issue  of  the  grossest  superstition.  In  this  latter 
class  are  found  many  that  are  absurd,  nugatory,  and 
ridiculous.  The  following,  which  I  have  extracted 
from  the  Jlyeen  Jlkbery,  will  exhibit  a  satisfactory 
view  of  this  subject. 

The  soul,  say  the  Hindoo  sages,  is  purified  by 
knowledge,  and  religious  worship.  A  drunkard  is 
purified  by  melted  glass.  When  the  body  is  defiled 
by  any  impurity  that  proceeds  from  itself,  it  is  puri- 
fied by  earth  and  water,  and  by  washing  the  teeth 
and  eyes.  Water  that  has  been  defiled  by  the  sha- 
dow of  an  impure  person,  is  purified,  sunshine,  moon- 
shine, or  wind.  If  any  filth  falls  from  an  animal  into 
a  well,  they  must  draw  out  sixty  jars  of  water  ;  and 
if  the  same  accident  happen  to  a  pond,  they  must 
take  out  one  hundred  jars.  If  any  filth  falls  into  oil, 
it  must  be  boiled.  Cotton,  molasses,  or  grain,  after 
separating  "whatever  had  defiled  it,  must  be  sprinkled 
with  water.  Gold,  silver,  stone,  vegetables,  silk,  and 
whatever  grows  in  the  earth,  are  purified  by  being- 
washed  in  water.  If  they  have  been  defiled  by  un- 
clean oil,  they  must  be  washed  in  hot  water.  Wood- 
en vessels,  if  touched  by  an  impure  person,  cannot  be 
purified  by  any  means.  But  if  they  are  touched  by 
another  unclean  thing,  or  by  a  Sooder  (one  of  the 
inferior  hindoo  casts)  they  may  be  purified  by  scra- 
ping. The  same  rule  is  to  be  observed  of  bone  or 
horn.  Any  stone  vessel  that  has  been  defiled,  after 
be1  ing  washed  must  be  buried  for  seven  days.  A 

fathers  shall  they  marry.  And  that  the  Jews  so  understood  the  law, 
appears  from  Judith  viii,  2.  Tobit  iii,  15.  This  I  chose  to  observe, 
because  a  late  ingenious  writer,  who  would  seem  te  have  examined 
this  point,  says,  it  does  not  appear  that  there  was  any  other  obligation 
even  upon  heiresses,  than  to  marry  only  within  their  mon  TRIBE.  Dr. 
Middleton's  reflections  on  the  inconsistencies  which  are  found  in  the 
•  four  evangelists,  in  his  works,  8vo,  vol.  ii,  p.  309.  Not  only  the  words 
of  the  law,  and  the  practice  of  the  Jews,  but  Grotius.  and  the  other 
commentators  which  he  had  before  him,  expressly  taught  him  other- 
wise. See  likewise  Kidder's  Dem.  of  the  Messiah,  part  ii,  p.  416-17, 
ivhere  the  reader,  if  he  pleases,  may  find  three  or  four  other  of  th< 
Doctor's  assertions  fnlly  confuted,  E.  F. 


Ch.  IX.]     Purifications  of  the  Hindoos,  $c.  77 

sieve,  or  pestle  and  mortar,  is  purified  by  being 
sprinkled  with  water.  An  earthen  vessel  is  purified 
by  being  heated  in  the  fire.  The  earth  is  cleansed 
by  sweeping,  or  by  washing,  or  by  lighting  a  fire 
upon  it ;  or  if  a  cow  lies  down  upon  it,  or  walks 
over  it,  or  in  time  it  will  purify  itself.  If  a  cow 
touches  any  food  with  her  mouth,  or  a  hair,  a  fly,  or 
any  other  insect  falls  therein,  it  is  purified  by  ashes 
or  water.  If  it  isdefiled  by  any  filth  falling  off  the 
body  of  the  person  who  is  eating,  he  must  wash  it 
with  water,  or  scour  it  with  earth  till  it  is  perfectly 
clean.  If  a  man  defile  himself  in  the  upper  parts  oJ 
the  body,  excepting  the  hands,  he  must  scour  him- 
self with  earth,  and  bathe.  If  he  defiles  himself  in 
the  lower  parts,  he  is  purified  by  washing  the  parts. 
If  he  is  defiled  by  drinking  wine,  or  by  having  con- 
nexion with  an  impure  woman,  or  by  any  human  ex- 
crement, he  is  purified  by  washing,  scouring  with 
earth,  and  by  washing  again,  if  below  the  navel ;  but 
if  it  happens  above  the  navel,  then  after  the  second 
washing,  he  must  anoint  the  parts  with  ghee,*  cow's 
milk  and  curds,  and  cow's  dung  and  urine,  and  he 
must  also  drink  three  handfuls  of  river  water.  If  he 
is  defiled  by  the  touch  of  a  washerman,  or  a  dealer  in 
leather,  or  an  executioner,  or  a  hunter,  or  a  fisherman, 
or  an  oilman,  or  atame  dog,  he  is  purified  by  water  alone . 
But  if  he  touch  an  unclean  woman,  a  sweeper,  a  sin- 
ner, a  corpse,  a  dog,  ass,  cat,  crow,  cock,  or  hen, 
or  a  mouse,  or  a  camel,  or  is  defiled  by  the  smoke  of 
a  corpse  that  is  burning ;  or  by  the  dust  shaken  off  an 
ass,  dog,  sheep,  or  goat,  he  must  go  into  the  water 
with  his  clothes  on,  look  at  the  sun,  and  repeat  some 
particular  prayers.  If  he  touches  human  fat  or  bone, 
he  must  bathe  with  his  clothes  on  ;  or  drink  three 
handfuls  of  water ;  or  look  at  the  sun ;  or  put  his 
hand  upon  a  cow.  If  he  is  soiled  with  the  blood  of 
clean  animals,  he  is  purified  by  scouring  himself  with 
earth  and  water.  If  a  garment  of  wool  or  silk  is  pol» 
luted  by  such  things  as  would  require  a  man,  if  touch  - 

*  Clarified  butter- 

7* 


78  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  II. 

ed,  to  bathe,  it  is  purified  by  the  wind  or  sunshine. 
Ayeen  Akbery,  v.  iii,  p.  243. 

Is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  if  that  pure 
and  rational  system  of  salvation,  laid  down  in  the 
Christian  Scriptures,  were  fairly  proposed  to  a  people 
groaning  under  such  burthensome  and  useless  rites,  it 
would  be  most  joyfully  received  ?  But  alas  !  so  per- 
verted is  the  soul  of  man,  that  he  would  rather 
"  spend  his  money  for  that  which  is  not  bread,  and  his 
labour  for  that  which  satisfieth  not,"  than  receive 
the  salvation  of  God  "  without  money  and  without 
price." 

Among  the  Mohammedans  purification  is  consi- 
dered as  essential  to  devotion,  and  the  key  of  prayer, 
without  which  it  is  of  no  effect.  It  is  of  two  descrip- 
tions, the  ghosse  or  complete  ablution  of  the  whole- 
body  ;  and  the  wazoo  or  washing  of  the  hands  and 
feet  on  particular  occasions,  and  after  a  particular 
manner.  In  many  respects  the  purifications  among 
the  Mohammedans  are  similar  to  those  among  the 
Jews.  Indeed  Mohammed  copied  many  from  the 
Jewish  Scriptures,  of  which  he  made  a  pretty  exten- 
sive use  in  composing  his  Koran.  See  the  Hedaya 
Prel.  Disc.  p.  liii. 


CHAPTER    X. 

Their  Women  and  Marriages. 
FROM  the  manner  in  which  the  Israelites  lived, 
marriage  was  no  incumbrance  to  them  ;  it  was  rather 
a  convenience,  for  which  it  was  originally  designed. 
The  women  were  laborious  as  well  as  the  men,  and 
wrought  in  the  house,  whilst  their  husbands  were  at 
work  in  the  fields.*  They  dressed  the  victuals,  and 
served  them  up,  as  appears  from  Homer  and  several 
passages  in  Scripture.  When  Samuel  describes  the 
manners  of  the  kings  to  the  people,  he  says,  your 
kings  will  take  your  daughters  to  be  confectioners,  and  to 

*  We  learn  from  Herodotus,  lib.  ii,  p.  115,  edit.  Steph.  1592,  that 
the  Egyptian  women  were  treated  in.  the  same  way. 


Ch.  X.]        Their  Women  and  Marriages.  79 

be  cooks,  and  to  be  bakers*  The  pretence  which 
Amnon  the  son  of  David  made  use  of  to  get  his  sister 
Tamar  near  him  when  he  debauched  her,  was  that  he 
might  eat  meat  at  her  hands, f  which  she  dressed 
herself  notwithstanding  she  was  a  king's  daughter. 

The  women  made  wearing  apparel;  and  their 
common  employment  was  weaving  stuffs,  as  making 
cloth  and  tapestry  is  now.  We  see  in  Homer  the 
instances  of  Penelope,  Calypso,  and  Circe.  There 
are  examples  of  it  in  Theocritus,  Terence,  and  many 
other  authors.^  But  what  appears  most  wonderful 
to  me  is,  that  this  custom  was  still  retained  at  Rome, 
among  the  greatest  ladies,  in  a  very  corrupt  age  : 
since  Augustus  commonly  wore  clothes  of  his  wife's, 
sister's,  and  daughter's  making. §  For  a  proof  out 
of  Scripture,  it  is  said  that  Samuel's  mother  made 
him  a  little  coat,  which  she  brought  him  upon  festi- 
val days  ;||  and  we  see  the  virtuous  wife  in  the  Pro- 
verbs seeking  wool  and  flax,  and  laying  her  hands  to 
the  spindle,**  and  giving  two  suits  of  clothes  to  all 
her  servants-It 

All  this  work  is  done  under  shelter,  and  in  the 
house,  and  does  not  require  great  strength  of  body  ; 
for  which  reason  the  ancients  did  not  think  them  fit 
employments  for  men,  but  left  them  to  the  women, 
as  naturally  more  inclined  to  stay  in  the  house,  and 
neater,  and  fonder  of  such  sort  of  things.  And  this 
is  probably  the  reason  why  women  were  generally 
doorkeepers,  even  to  kings.  There  was  only  one 
servant  maid  at  the  gate  of  king  Ishbosheth,|| 

*  1  Sam.  viii,  13.  f  2  Sam.  xiii,  6.  {  Theoc.  Idyll.  15,  Ter.  Heauf. 
Act.  ii,  Sc.  2.  §  Seut.  Aug.  73.  ||  1  Sam.  ii,  19.  **  Prov.  xxxi,  13, 
and  19,  and  21. 

It  Here  our  author  follows  the  Vulgate,  which  translates  Prov.  xxx, 
21, — Omnes  enim  domestici  ejus  vestiti  sunt  duplicibus  ;  and  we,  for  all 
her  household  are  clothed  with  scarlet ;  and  in  the  margin,  or  double  gar- 
ments; for  tZTiiy  signifies  either.  E.  F.  But  double  clothing  seems 
to  be  chiefly  intended,  because  the  clothing  referred  to  is  for  a  de- 
fence from  the  cold;  in  which  case  scarlet  could  avail  no  more  than 
any  other  colour ;  therefore  our  translation)  is  evidently  improper. 

Jt  Et  ostiaria  domus  purgans  triticum  obdormivit,  2  Sam.  iv,  5.  The 
reader  must  not  expect  to  find  this  in  our  Bible,  because  the  Hebrew 
has  it  not.  The  Vulgate  took  it  from  the  Seventy.  However,  what  our 


80    '  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  II . 

who  was  busy  in  picking  corn.  And  David,  when  he 
fled  before  Absalom,  left  ten  women,  who  were  his 
concubines,  to  keep  his  palace.*  The  women  lived 
separated  from  the  men,  and  very  retired,  especially 
widows.  Judith  lived  in  this  manner,  shut  up  with 
her  women  in  an  apartment  upon  the  top  of  the 
house,f  and  so  did  Penelope  in  Homer.! 

The  Israelites  made  great  feasts  and  rejoicings  at 
their  weddings.  They  were  so  drest  out,  that  David 
could  find  no  fitter  comparison  to  describe  the  splen- 
dour of  the  sun  by,  than  that  of  a  bridegroom.  The 
feast  lasted  seven  days  ;  which  we  see  as  early  as  the 
times  of  the  patriarchs.  When  Jacob  complained 
that  they  had  given  him  Leah  for  Rachel,  Laban  said 
to  him,  Fulfil  the  week  of  the  marriage. §  Samson, 
having  married  a  Philistine,  made  feasts  for  seven 
days,  and  the  seventh  day  the  feast  ended.  ||  When 
young  Tobias  had  a  mind  to  go  home,  his  father-in- 
law  pressed  him  to  stay  two  weeks,  doubling  the 
usual  time,  because  they  were  never  to  see  one  ano- 
ther again.**  This  is  the  constant  tradition  of  the 
Jews,  and  their  practice  is  agreeable  to  it. ft  Who- 
ever thoroughly  studies  the  Song  of  Solomon,  will 
find  seven  days  plainly  pointed  out,  to  represent  the 
first  week  of  his  marriage  4 1 

We  see  in  the  same  Song,  the  friends  of  the  bride- 
groom and  the  companions  of  the  bride,  who  were 
always  at  the  feast. §§  He  had  young  men  to  rejoice 
with  him,  and  she,  young  women.  ||||  In  the  gospel, 
there  is  mention  made  of  the  bridegroom's  friends, 
and  of  the  virgins  who  went  forth  to  meet  the  bride 
and  bridegroom.**"  He  wore  a  crown  in  token  oi' 

author  asserts  is  notorious :  for  the  women  spoken  of,  Exod.  xxxviii, 
8,  were  probably  doorkeepers,  as  well  as  those  who  assembled  at  the  door 
of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  I  Sam.  ii,  22.  Athenaeus  says  the 
keepers  of  the  king's  palace  in  Persia  were  women,  1.  xii,  Deipnos.  c.  ii, 
and  Chardin  says  it  was  so  lately.  And  the  damsel  that  kept  the  door 
in  the  gospel,  John  xviii,  17,  every  body  remembers.  E.  F. 

*  2  Sam.  xv,  16.  |  Judith  viii,  4,  5.  i  Odyss.  1.  i,  v.  328-330.  §  Gen. 
xxix,  27.  ||Judg.  xiv,  12,  &c.  **Tobit  viii,  20.  ft  Cod.  Talm. 
Pirke  Aboth,  cap.  xvi.  }J  Seld.  Uxor  Heb.  ii,  c.  3,  Buxtorf.  Syn.  Jud. 
c.  28.  §§Song  of  Sol.  v,  1.  ||||  Jud.  xiv,  11.  *+*Matt.  ix,  15. 
xxr,  1,  foe. 


Ch.  X.J         Their  Women  and  Marriages.  81 

joy,  and  she  too,*  according  to  the  Jewish  tradition. 
They  were  conducted  with  instruments  of  music,  and 
their  company  carried  branches  of  myrtle  and  palm- 
tree  in  their  hands,  f 

As  for  any  thing  farther,  we  do  not  find  that  their 
marriages  were  attended  with  any  religious  ceremo- 
ny, except  the  prayers  of  the  father  of  the  family, 
and  the  standers  by,  to  intreat  the  blessing  of  God 
We  have  examples  of  it  in  the  marriage  of  Rebecca 
with  lsaac,i  of  Ruth  with  Boaz,§  and  of  Sara  with 
Tobias,  jj  We  do  not  see  that  there  were  any  sacri- 
fices offered  upon  the  occasion  ;  or  that  they  went 
to  the  temple,  or  sent  for  the  priests  :  all  was  trans- 
acted betwixt  the  relations  and  friends  :  so  that  it 
was  no  more  than  a  civil  contract. 

As  to  circumcision,  it  was  really  a  religious  act, 
and  absolutely  necessary,  at  that  time,  for  all  that 
would  enter  into  the  covenant  of  Abraham.**  But 
yet  it  was  performed  in  private  houses,  without  the 
ministry  of  priests  or  Levites.  If  any  body  of  a  public 
character  was  sent  for,  it  was  a  sort  of  surgeon  used 
to  the  operation,  whom  they  called  Mohel :  and  such 
sort  of  people  the  Jews  have  still,  ff  In  all  these  ce- 
remonies we  must  take  care  not  to  be  imposed  upon 
by  modern  pictures,  as  I  said  about  clothes. 

The  Israelites  were  so  far  from  being  afraid  of 
plenty  of  children,  that  it  was  what  they  wished  for. 
Besides  their  natural  inclination,  they  had  great  mo- 
tives to  it  from  the  law.  They  knew  that  God,  when 

*  Isaiah  Ixi,  10.  The  Chaldee  paraphrast  renders  it,  as  the  high 
priest  is  adorned  with  Ids  vestments,  that  is,  magnificently,  which  the 
Vulgate  translates,  quasi  sponsum  decoratum  corona,  and  the  Seventy 
in  the  same  manner :  and  them  our  author  follows,  according  to  cus- 
tom. E.  F. 

t  Pirke  Aboth.  c.  xix.  Selden.  c.  xv.  |  Gen.  xxiv,  60.  §  Ruth  iv, 
11.  ||  Tobit  vii,  13.  **  See  Part  IV,  c.  1. 

tt  SniD  mohel,  a  circumciser,  from  the  Chaldee  ^niD  mahal,  he  cir- 
cumcised. When  the  operator  has  performed  the  act,  he  pronounces 
the  following  benediction  :  O  Lord  our  God,  the  God  of  our  fathers, 
strengthen  this  child,  and  preserve  him  to  his  parents ;  and  let  his  namt 

among  the  people  of  Israel  be (here  the  name  is  first  given.)  Let  Afc 

father  rejoice  and  be  glad  for  that  which  is  descended  from  his  loin'' . 
md  let  his  mother  be  delighted  with  the  fruit  of  her  womb. 


82  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  II. 

he  created  the  world,  and  repaired  it  after  the  deluge, 
had  said,  Increase  and  multiply  in  the  earth  ;  that  he 
had  promised  Abraham  a  numerous  posterity  :  in  a 
word,  that  from  among  them  was  to  be  born  the  Sa- 
viour of  the  world  ;  we  may  add  to  this,  that  they  were 
not  influenced  by  those  sordid  considerations,  which 
cause  the  blessing  of  children  to  be  looked  on  in  the 
present  day  as  a  misfortune. 

By  reason  of  their  frugal  way  of  life,  they  were  at 
small  expense  in  feeding  them  whilst  they  were  little ; 
and  less  in  clothing  them,  for  in  those  hot  countries 
they  often  let  them  go  naked  ;  and  when  they  grew 
up,  they  helped  them  in  their  work,  and  saved  the 
expense  of  slaves  or  hired  servants  :  and  indeed  they 
had  but  few  slaves  in  proportion  to  their  work.  Ziba, 
Saul's  servant,  ploughed  Mephibosheth's  estate  with 
his  fifteen  sous  and  twenty  servants.*  They  were  in 
no  pain  about  providing  for  their  children,  since  they 
had  no  fortunes  to  raise  for  them  :  all  their  ambition 
was  to  leave  their  children  the  inheritance  they  had 
received  from  their  ancestors,  better  cultivated  if 
possible,  and  with  a  larger  stock  upon  it.  As  for  the 
daughters,  they  never  inherited  but  in  default  of  male 
issue  ;f  they  were  sought  in  marriage  more  upon 
account  of  their  families  than  their  riches. 

It  was  therefore  a  convenience,  as  well  as  an 
honour,  to  have  a  great  many  children.  He  was 
esteemed  happy,  who  saw  himself  father  of  a  large 
family,  $  and  surrounded  with  a  great  number  of 
children,  and  grandchildren,  always  ready  to  receive 
his  instructions  and  execute  his  commands,  and  was 
under  no  apprehension  of  having  his  name  forgotten 
whilst  his  posterity  subsisted.  Children's  children  art 
the  crown  ofoldmen,§  says  the  Scripture  ;  and  when 
it  takes  notice  of  the  number  of  children,  it  is  com- 
monly in  praise  of  their  parents :  as  those  two  judges 
of  Israel,  one  of  whom  had  thirty  sons,  the  other 
forty,  and  thirty  grandsons  ;||  as  David,  nineteen  of 

*  2  Sam.  ix,  10.     |  Numb,  xxvii,  8.     t  Psa.  cxxvii,  3, 4,  6.     §  Prov 
*vii,  6.     ||  Judg.  x,  4.  xii,  14. 


Ch.  X.]        Their  Women  and  Marriages.  83 

whose  sons  are  named,*  besides  those  that  he  had 
by  his  concubines  ;  Rehoboam,  who  had  twenty- 
eight  sons  and  sixty  daughters,!  and  Abia,  who  had 
twenty-two  sons  and  sixteen  daughters  4  In  the 
same  manner  the  poets  make  mention  of  the  fifty 
sons  of  Priamus,  for  the  Greeks  had  no  less  esteem 
for  fruitfulness.  Virginity,  considered  as  a  virtue, 
was  at  that  time  little  known,  and  looked  upon  in 
the  same  light  with  sterility  ;  and  the  women  that 
died  unmarried,  were  reckoned  unfortunate.  Elec- 
tra,  in  Sophocles,  bemoans  herself  expressly  upon 
it,  and  this  was  the  occasion  of  the  repining  of  Jep- 
tha's  daughter.  §  Hence,  barrenness  came  to  be  a 
reproach  to  married  women,  as  we  see  by  Samuel's 
mother,  and  many  others. ||  This  misfortune  was 
looked  upon  as  a  curse  from  God. 

This  care  for  posterity  was  the  foundation  of  the 
law  that  enjoined  a  man  to  marry  his  brother's 
widow,  when  he  died  without  children.  A  law,  ex- 
isting in  the  patriarchal  times,  as  appears  by  the 
story  of  Tamar  :**  and  looked  upon  as  a  duty,  that  the 
name  of  the  deceased  might  not  be  forgotten  :  and  so 
the  children  were  reckoned  his  by  a  sort  of  adoption, 
From  hence  proceed  the  two  genealogies  of  Jesus 
Christ ;  one  according  to  St.  Matthew  ;  and  the  other 
according  to  St.  Luke. ft  For  thus  it  was  found  that 
Joseph  had  two  fathers,  one  by  whom  he  was  begot- 
ten, and  the  other  by  legal  adoption  4 1  Besides,  the 
marrying  a  sister-in-law  was  not  contrary  to  the  first 
law  of  nature,  which  allowed  marrying  even  one's 
own  sister,  before  God  forbade  it. 

It  was  the  desire  of  having  a  great  number  of  chil- 
dren, that  induced  the  Israelites  to  take  several  wives 
at  a  time  :  which  they  esteemed  an  honour,  and  sign 
of  dignity.  It  is  thus  that  Isaiah,  to  show  how  much 

*  1  Chron.  iii,  1,  &c.  f2Chron.  xi,  21.  J  2Chron.  xiii,  21.  §Judg. 
xi,  31.  ||  1  Sam.  i,  2-6.  **  Gen.  xxxviii,  8.  ft  Matt.  i.  Luke  iii. 

Jt  Commentators  are  greatly  divided  concerning  tbese  two  genealo- 
gies. Some  suppose  that  in  St.  Luke  to  be  the  genealogy  of  the 
blessed  Virgin ;  and  that  Heli,  said  to  be  the  father  of  Joseph,  was  only 
his  father-in-law,  being  the  father  of  Mary. 


84  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  II. 

valued  those  of  God's  people  should  be,  whom  he 
should  preserve,  says,  that  seven  women  shall  take  hold 
of  one  man,*  offering  to  live  at  their  own  expense,  pro- 
vided they  had  the  honour  to  be  called  by  his  name. 
Thus  it  is  likewise  said,  that  Rehoboam  had  eighteen 
wives  and  threescore  concubines,  and  that  he  gave 
many  wives  to  his  son  Abia  whom  he  chose  for  his 
successor.! 

They  were  yet  very  sparing  in  the  use  of  marriage  ; 
they  did  not  only  abstain  from  it,  whilst  their  wives 
were  big  with  child,  and  otherwise  indisposed,  but 
all  the  time  they  were  nurses,  for  two  or  three  years 
together :  and  mothers  did  not  often  dispense  with 
themselves  from  giving  suck  to  their  own  children. 
We  find  but  three  nurses  mentioned  in  the  Scripture, 
that  is,  Rebecca's,;  Mephibosheth's,§  and  she  that 
nursed  Joash  king  of  Judah.|| 

We  ought  not  then  to  wonder  that  God  tolerated 
polygamy,  which  was  introduced  before  the  deluge,** 
though  it  was  contrary  to  the  first  institution  of  mar- 
riage. For  when  it  was  instituted  in  the  terrestrial 
paradise,  there  was  yet  no  concupiscence.  Polygamy 
then  was  like  divorces,  which  Jesus  Christ  told  the 
Jews  had  never  been  allowed  them  but  for  the  hard- 
ness of  their  hearts,  ff  Besides  wives,  they  had  like- 
wise concubines,  who  were  commonly  slaves  :  law- 
ful wives  had  no  other  advantage  over  them,  than  the 
honour  of  having  their  children  preferred  to  the  in- 
heritance. So  that  the  name  of  concubinage  had  no 
ill  signification,  as  with  us.  It  was  only  a  less  so- 
lemn wedding. 

This  liberty,  besides,  was  very  far  from  rendering 
the  state  of  matrimony  more  convenient ;  it  made  the 
yoke  of  it  much  heavier.  A  husband  could  not  so 
equally  divide  his  heart  amongst  many  wives,  as  to 

*  Isaiah  iv,  1.    f  2Chron.  xi,21,  23.    J  Gen.  xxiv,  59.    §2  Sam.  iv,4. 

||  2  Kings  xi,  2.  But  besides  these,  it  is  said  that  Naomi  was  nurse 
to  the  child  of  Boaz  and  Ruth.  See  Ruth  iv,  16. 

**  Gen.  iv,  19.  Lamech  was  the  first  polygamist,  and  from  all  that 
the  Scripture  says  concerning  him,  there  is  much  reason  to  fear  he 
was  a  very  bad  man.  ft  Matt,  xix,  8. 


Ch.  XL]        Education  of  their  Children.  85 

please  them  all ;  which  obliged  him  to  govern  them 
in  an  absolute  manner,  as  the  eastern  people  still  do. 
So  that  there  was  no  longer  any  equality,  friendship, 
or  society  in  marriage.  It  was  still  harder  for  the 
rival  wives  to  agree  amongst  themselves  :  there  was 
no  end  of  divisions,  cabals,  and  domestic  quarrels. 
All  the  children  of  one  wife  had  so  many  mothers-in- 
law,  as  their  father  had  more  wives  :  each  espoused 
the  interest  of  its  own  mother,  and  looked  upon  the 
children  of  the  other  wives  as  strangers  or  enemies. 
Hence  comes  the  way  of  speaking  so  common  in 
Scripture,  it  is  my  brother  and  the  son  of  my  mother. 
We  see  examples  of  these  divisions  in  the  family  of 
David,  and  still  worse  in  that  of  Herod. 

The  liberty  of  being  set  loose  by  divorce,  had  also 
very  bad  consequences.  People  engaged  themselves 
more  unwarily,  and  took  less  pains  to  please  one 
another ;  and  a  man  had  it  in  his  power  to  have  so 
many  wives,  that  it  was  no  better  than  an  excuse  for 
debauchery.  We  know  the  disorder  there  was  at 
Rome  after  the  decay  of  the  commonwealth ;  where- 
as, whilst  good  manners  subsisted  there,  that  is,  till 
the  year  523  from  the  foundation,  there  was  no  such 
thing  as  a  divorce  heard  of,  though  it  was  permitted 
by  the  laws.*  The  children  suffered  very  much  by 
it  too  :  they  were  orphans,  even  whilst  their  father 
and  mother  were  living,  and  could  scarcely  avoid 
being  hated  by  one  of  them,  and  taking  part  with 
one  against  the  other. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Education  of  their  Children,  their  Exercises, 

and  Studies. 

THE  education  of  children  seems  to  have  been 

very  nearly  the  same  among  the  Israelites  as  that  of 

the  Egyptians,  and  the  most  ancient  Greeks. f   They 

formed  their  body  by  labour  and  exercise,  and  their 

*  Gellius  iv,  c.  3.    f  Plato  Rep.  2, 3. 

8 


86  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  II. 

mind  by  literature  and  music.  Strength  of  body 
was  greatly  esteemed  ;  and  it  is  that  for  which  sol- 
diers are  mostly  commended  in  Scripture,  as  David's 
valiant  men  are.*  Foot-racing  must  have  been  one 
of  their  chief  exercises,  since  men  were  known  by 
their  running  at  a  distance,  as  those  who  brought 
the  news  of  Absalom's  defeat ;  they  must  needs  have 
seen  them  run  often,  f  It  is  also  said  of  Asahel, 
Joab's  brother,  that  he  was  as  light  of  foot  as  a  wild 
roe.:}:  Zechariah  speaks  of  a  burdensome  stone,  § 
which  St.  Jerom  takes  for  one  of  those  stones  which 
served  to  try  men's  strength  by  seeing  who  could 
lift  it  highest.  ||  For  which  reason  one  may  ima- 
gine they  had  that  sort  of  exercise.  The  example 
of  Jonathan  shows  they  used  to  exercise  themselves 
in  shooting  with  the  bow.** 

But  they  did  not  make  the  exercise  of  the  body 
their  main  business  like  the  Greeks,  who  reduced  it 
to  a  profession  and  studied  the  greatest  improve- 
ments in  it.  They  called  this  art  gymnastic,  because 
they  exercised  themselves  naked,  and  the  schools 
gymnasia,  whicn  were  spacious,  magnificent,  and 
built  at  a  great  expense. ff  There  the  best  masters, 
with  many  assistants  under  them,  formed  the  bodies 
of  young  people  by  a  very  exact  discipline  and  re- 
gular exercise.  Some  took  such  delight  in  it,  that 
they  practised  nothing  else  all  their  lives,  and  were 
wrestlers,  &c.,  by  profession.  By  this  means  they 
acquired  prodigious  strength,  and  brought  their  bo- 
dies into  such  exact  shape,  that  they  served  as  mo- 
dels for  the  finest  statues.  But  in  other  repects  it 
made  them  brutal,  and  incapable  of  any  application 
of  mind  ;  nor  were  they  even  fit  for  war,  or  any  sort 

*  2  Sam.  xxiii,  1,  &c.     1 2  Sam.  xviii,  27.     t2Sam.ii,  18.    §Zech. 

||  St.  Jerom  assures  us  that  this  was  an  ancient  custom  in  all  the 
cities  and  towns  of  Palestine,  which  subsisted  even  in  his  days :  and 
that  he  had  seen  a  great  brazen  ball  at  Athens  in  the  citadel,  near  the 
statue  of  Minerva,  which  was  used  to  try  the  strength  of  the  Athletse, 
that  those  of  simitar  powers  might  be  paired  together,  that  the  advan- 
tages on  each  side  might  be  equal.  See  his  comment  on  the  above  text. 

**  1  Sam.  xx,  20.    ft  Hier.  Mercurial.  De  arte  gymnast. 


Ch.XL]  Their  Language.  87 

of  enterprise  that  deprived  them  of  their  usual  diet 
or  rest,  or  put  them  at  all  out  of  their  regular  way  of 
living.  The  Hebrews  were  too  serious  to  give  into 
these  niceties  ;  and  it  was  an  odious  novelty  to  them, 
when  there  was  an  academy  built  at  Jerusalem,  un- 
der Antiochus  Epiphanes,  after  the  Greek  fashion.* 
They  were  content  with  field  labour,  and  some  mili- 
tary exercises,  as  were  the  Romans. 

Nor  had  they  occasion  for  hard  study  to  improve 
their  mind,  if  by  study  we  understand  the  knowledge 
of  several  languages,  and  reading  many  books,  as  we 
commonly  mean  by  it.  For  they  despised  learning 
foreign  languages,  because  that  was  as  much  in  the 
power  of  slaves  as  those  of  higher  rank.f  Their 
native  language  was  sufficient  for  them,  that  is,  the 
Hebrew,  in  which  the  Scripture  is  written.  It  has 
a  resemblance  of  their  manners  ;  the  words  of  it  are 
plain,  all  derived  from  few  roots,  and  uncompounded : 
it  has  a  wonderful  luxuriance  in  its  verbs,  mo»t  of 
which  express  whole  phrases.  To  be  great,  to  make 
great,  to  be  made  great,  are  all  simple  words,  which 
no  translation  can  fully  express.  Most  of  the  pre- 
positions and  pronouns  are  no  more  than  single  let- 
ters added  to  the  beginning  or  end  of  other  words. 
It  is  the  most  concise  tongue  we  know,  and  conse- 
quently comes  nearest  to  the  language  of  spirits,  who 
have  little  need  of  words  to  make  themselves  under- 
stood ;  the  expressions  are  clear  and  weighty ;  they 
convey  distinct  and  sensible  ideas,  and  the  farthest 
from  bombast  of  all  others. 

The  genius  of  this  language  is  to  make  one  propo- 
sition follow  another,  without  suspending  the  sense, 
or  perplexing  us  with  long  periods,  which  makes  the 
style  extremely  clear.  Thence  it  comes,  that  in  their 
narrations,  those  that  are  concerned  in  them  speak 
with  the  utmost  plainness,  and  in  their  own  persons, 
and  do  not  scruple  to  use  repetitions.  They  almost 
constantly  relate  the  same  thing  in  the  same  words. 

*  1  Mace,  i,  14.   2  Mace,  iv,  12.    t  Joseph.  Antiq.  lib.  xx,  c.  1J. 


88  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  II . 

And  this  is  what  makes  us,  at  first,  think  the  Scrip- 
ture style  flat  and  heavy  ;  but  it  is  in  reality  a  mark 
of  good  sense,  solidity,  and  a  clear  head,  in  those 
who  spoke  in  that  manner.  Though  the  style  of 
the  sacred  books  is  very  different,  we  do  not  find 
that  the  language  altered  from  the  time  of  Moses  to 
the  Babylonish  captivity. 

All  their  grammar  then  consisted,  like  that  of  the 
most  ancient  Greeks,  in  speaking  in  their  own  lan- 
guage well,  and  in  writing  and  reading  it  correctly ; 
with  this  difference,  that  it  does  not  appear  they  had 
reduced  it  into  an  art,  and  learnt  it  by  rules.  Their 
letters  were  those  which  we  call  at  present  Samari- 
tan, because  the  Samaritans  have  preserved  them : 
and  as  they  do  not  run  well,  nor  are  easy  to  shape, 
it  may  reasonably  be  doubted,  whether  it  was  very 
common  amongst  the  Israelites  to  know  how  to 
write  :  and  the  rather,  as  learned  men  are  called  in 
Scripture  Sopherin,  that  is  to  say,  Scribes,  according 
to  the  old  translations.  Labouring  people,  too,  have 
much  less  occasion  for  writing,  than  merchants  and 
men  of  business.  But  it  is  probable  that  most  of 
them  knew  how  to  read  ;  since  it  was  recommended 
to  all  to  learn  the  law  of  God,  and  meditate  upon  it 
day  and  night  :*  and  this  study  was  their  whole  em- 
ployment upon  the  sabbath  days.f 

This  book  alone  was  sufficient  to  instruct  them 
thoroughly  :  they  saw  in  it  the  history  of  the  world 
till  their  settlement  in  the  promised  land,  the  rise  of 
all  the  nations  which  they  knew,  and  more  especial- 
ly of  those  they  were  most  concerned  to  be  best  ac- 
quainted with,  the  descendants  of  Lot,  Abraham, 
Ishmael,  and  Esau.  There  they  saw  the  whole  of 
their  religion,  its  doctrines,  ceremonies,  and  moral 
precepts,  and  there  they  found  their  civil  laws.  This 
volume  alone,  which  is  the  pentateuch  or  five  books 
of  Moses,  contained  all  that  they  were  obliged  to 

*  Deut.  vi,  6,  7,  &c.     t  Joseph.  Ant.  1.  xvi,  c.  2,  s,  3.   Orig.  cont 
Cels.  lib.  iv. 


Ch.XL]  Their  Books.  39 

know.  Not  because  they  had  not  many  other  books : 
for,  to  omit  those  of  Joshua,  Judges,  Samuel,  and 
several  that  were  written  after  ;  in  the  time  of  Mo- 
ses, the  book  of  the  wars  of  the  Lord*  is  mentioned ; 
and  in  other  places  the  book  ofjasher.^  The  books 
of  kings  often  refer  to  the  chronicles  of  the  kings 
of  Judah  and  Israel.  Solomon  wrote  three  thou- 
sand parables,  and  one  thousand  and  five  songs  :$ 
he  wrote  treatises  upon  all  sorts  of  plants  and  ani- 
mals, and  he  himself  complains  that  of  making  books 
there  is  no  end.§  All  these,  and  perhaps  many  others 
that  we  never  heard  of,  are  lost ;  as  those  of  the 
Egyptians,  Syrians,  and  other  eastern  people.  The 
only  books  that  remain,  of  so  great  antiquity,  are 
such  as  God  dictated  to  his  prophets,  and  has  pre- 
served by  a  particular  providence. 

It  is  not  at  all  likely  that  the  Israelites  studied  the 
books  of  foreigners,  from  whom  they  were  so  care- 
ful to  separate  themselves.  And  this  study  might 
have  been  dangerous  ;  since  it  would  have  taught 
them  the  impious  and  extravagant  fables  of  which 
the  theology  of  idolaters  was  composed.  But  they 
abhorred  it  to  that  degree  that  they  would  not  so 
much  as  pronounce  the  name  of  false  gods,||  and, 
if  they  made  part  of  any  proper  names,  they  changed 
them.  Thus  they  said  Ishbosheth  and  Mephibo- 

*  Numb,  xxi,  14. 

'  t  Josh  x,  13,  and  2  Sam.  i,  18. — Our  author  calls  it  Livre  desjustes, 
after  the  Vulgate,  liber  justorum :  but  the  Chaldee  paraphrast,  The 
book  of  the  law  :  the  Syriac,  The  book  of  Canticles,  in  one  place ;  and, 
The  book  ofrfshir,  in  the  other.  Now  it  may  be  doubted,  whether  any 
of  these  come  up  to  the  original  ^tyn  ISO  that  is,  literally,  The  book 
of  the  upright,  or,  The  book  which  is  right,  as  the  Seventy  seem  to  have 
understood  it,  by  translating  it  ««  r«  6«6At«  ™  £u0«r.  The  sacred  wri- 
ter appeals  to  the  authentic  copy  of  Joshua  and  Samuel  that  was  pre- 
served by  the  high  priest,  as  the  law  was,  Deut.  xxxi,  26,  and  xvii,  IS, 
it  may  be,'fc  the  tabernacle  or  the  temple,  for  Josephus,  when  he  men- 
tions the  sun's  standing  still,  Ant,  1.  v,  cap.  1,  says,  This  is  manifest 
by  the  writings  deposited  in  the  temple.  The  Arabic  in  2  Sam.  i,  18, 
gives  the  passage  a  strange  turn.  "  Behold  it  is  written  in  the  book 
of  Ashir,  that  is,  the  book  of  Samuel,  the  interpretation  of  which  is  the 
book  of  Canticies." 

1 1  Kings  iv,  32,  33.  §  Eccles.  xii,  12.  ||  Psal.  xvi,  4.  Wisdom 
xiv,  27. 

8* 


90  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [  Part  1 1 . 

sheth,  for  Eshbaal  and  Meribbaal;  Bethhaven  for 
Bethel ;  and  Beelzebub  instead  of  Beelsemen.* 
These  fables,  which  comprehend  the  whole  doctrine 
of  false  religions,  were  a  heap  of  lies  established  by 
long  tradition  upon  the  foundations  of  ancient  truths, 
and  embellished  by  the  invention  of  poets  :  mothers 
and  nurses  taught  them  to  their  children  from  their 
cradle,  and  sung  them  at  their  religious  worship  and 
feasts.  The  wisest  of  the  heathens  saw  plainly  that, 
they  tended  only  to  create  a  contempt  of  the  divinity, 
and  corruption  of  manners :  but  the  evil  was  past 
remedy. f 

The  Israelites  were  the  only  people  that  related 
truths  to  their  children,  capable  of  inspiring  them 
with  the  fear  and  love  of  God,  and  exciting  them  to 
virtue.  All  their  traditions  were  noble  and  useful. 
JSfot  but  they  made  use  of  parables  and  riddles,  be- 
sides simple  narrations,  to  teach  truths  of  great  im- 
portance, especially  to  morality.  It  was  a  practice 
among  the  ingenious  to  propound  riddles  to  one  ano- 
ther, as  we  see  by  the  instances  of  Samson^  and  the 
queen  of  Sheba.§  The  Greeks  tell  us  the  same  thing 
of  their  first  sages.  ||  They  made  use  too  of  these 

*  Compare  1  Chron.  viii,  33,  34,  with  2  Sam.  ii,  8,  and  iv,  4. 

ESHBAAL,  (?JJ3tPX  the  fire  of  Baal  or  of  the  idol,  changed  into  ISH- 
BOSHETII  ;y^3  w'K  the  man  of  shame. 

MERIBBAAL  ^3  3'"V3  the  contention  of  Baa],  changed  into  ME- 
PIHBOSHETH,  f\EO  '£30  from  the  mouth  of  shame,  both  names  being 
intended  to  ridicule  those  which  appear  to  have  been  imposed  in 
honour  of  the  idol. 

BETHEL  ^^  jva  the  house  of  God,  which,  when  Jeroboam  set  up 
the  worship  of  his  golden  calves  in  it,  was  called  BETHAVEN  J1NJV2 
the  house  or  temple  of  iniquity. 

BEELSEMEN  o^p^  7V3  J-wd  or  ru^er  of  the  heavens,  was  through 
contempt  changed  into  BEELZEBUB  3131  Sy3  the  fly  god,  or  god  of 
flies;  and  BEELZEBUL  ^3;  ^3  the  god  of  dung.  In  this  latter  form 
the  word  is  read  in  the  Greek  Testament. 

f  Plato  Rep.  ii,  in  fine,  et  init.  iii.     \  Judg.  xiv,  14. 

§  1  Kings  x,  i.  Our  translation  says,  she  came  to  prove  him  with  hard 
questions :  but  the  Abbe  follows  the  Vulgate,  venit  tentare  eum  in  aenig- 
matibus,  which  is  the  same  with  the  ev  mvi^aai,  (with  riddles  or  enig- 
mas) of  the  Septuagint ;  which  is  the  true  import  of  the  Hebrew  word 
ni"Vn3  oacheedoth,  from  r\~\T\  chadah,  to  penetrate;  because  such  say- 
ings penetrated  the  mind,  and  engrossed  the  attention  more  than 
others. 

Plutarch  Coram.  Sept.  Sap. 


Ch.  XL]      Method  of  giving  Instructions.  91 

fables,  as  Esop  did,  the  fiction  of  which  is  so  plain  that 
it  can  impose  upon  nobody.  We  have  two  of  them 
in  Scripture,  Jotham's  the  son  of  Gideon,*  and  that 
of  Joash  king  of  Israel. f  But  the  chief  use  of  alle- 
gories and  a  figurative  way  of  speaking  was  to  com- 
prehend the  maxims  of  morality  in  few  words  and 
under  agreeable  images,  that  children  might  learn 
them  more  easily;  and  such  are  the  parables  or 
proverbs  of  which  the  books  -of  Solomon  are  com- 
posed. 

These  parables  are  commonly  expressed  in  verse, 
and  the  verses  were  made  to  be  sung ;  for  which 
reason,  I  believe,  the  Israelites  learnt  music  too.  I 
judge  of  them  by  the  Greeks,  who  had  all  their  learn- 
ing and  politeness  from  the  eastern  people.  Now  it 
is  certain  that  the  Greeks  taught  their  children  both 
to  sing  and  play  upon  instruments.  This  study  is  the 
most  ancient  of  all  others.  Before  the  use  of  letters 
the  memory  of  great  actions  was  preserved  by  songs. 
The  Gauls  and  Germans  retained  the  same  custom 
in  the  times  of!  the  Romans,  and  it  is  still  preserved 
among  the  people  of  America.  J 

Though  the  Hebrews  had  letters,  they  knew  that 
words  in  measure  and  set  to  a  tune  were  always  best 
remembered  ;  and  from  thence  proceeded  that  great 
care  which  they  always  took  to  compose  songs  upon 
any  important  event  that  had  happened  to  them. 
Such  are  those  two  songs  of  Moses,  one  at  passing 
through  the  Red  sea,§  the  other  when  he  died,  to 
recommend  the  observation  of  the  law.  ||  Such  like- 
wise is  that  of  Deborah/*  that  of  Samuel's  mother,  ff 
and  many  others  :  but,  above  all,  the  Psalms  of  Da- 
vid. These  poems  are  wonderfully  instructive,  full 
of  the  praises  of  God,  the  remembrance  of  his  loving- 

*  Judg.  ix,  8.     1 2  Kings  xiv,  9. 

:f  This  custom  prevailed  also  among  the  Hindoos,  witness  the  great 
ind  ancient  epic  poem  of  India,  the  Mahabarat ;  among  the  Persians, 
witness  the  famous  Shah  Nameh  of  Ferdoosee  ;  among  the  Irish, 
Welsh  and  Scotch,  witness  the  remains  of  their  ancient  bards,  Ossian, 
Urran,  Oscar,  &c. 

§Exod.  xv,l;&c.  HDeut.  xxxii.l.&c.  **Judg,  v.  J,&c,  ft !  Sam 
ii,  1—10, 


92  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II, 

kindness,  containing,  besides,  moral  precepts,  and 
such  sentiments  as  a  good  man  ought  to  have  in 
every  station  of  life.  Thus,  the  most  important 
truths,  and  exalted  notions,  were  agreeably  instilled 
into  the  minds  of  children  by  poetry  set  to  music. 

And  that  was  the  right  use  of  them.  God,  who 
created  great  geniuses  and  fine  voices,  designed, 
without  doubt,  that  the  owners  should  employ  them 
to  recommend  virtue,  and  not  to  foment  criminal  pas- 
sions. The  Greeks  themselves  own,  that  the  most 
ancient  and  best  sort  of  poetry  was  the  lyric,  that  is  to 
say,  hymns  and  odes  in  praise  of  the  Deity,  and  to 
inspire  virtue.*  Dramatic  poetry,  which  consists 
only  in  imitation,  and  aims  at  nothing  but  to  divert  by 
moving  the  passions,  was  of  later  invention.  We 
see  nothing  of  it  among  the  Hebrews  ;  and  though 
Solomon  in  his  Song  makes  different  persons  speak, 
it  is  more  to  express  their  sentiments  in  a  lively  man- 
ner, than  to  represent  an  action,  as  is  done  in  thea- 
trical performances,  f 

There  are  no  remains  of  the  Hebrew  music,  but 
there  are  several  of  the  structure  of  their  verse ;  J  and 
if  we  may  judge  of  the  beauty  of  their  songs  by  that  of 
the  words,  they  must  have  been  excellent ;  grave  and 
serious,  but  affecting  and  diversified.  And  if  we  may 
form  an  opinion  of  them  from  their  effects,  the  Scrip- 
ture seems  to  impute  supernatural  ones  to  them. 
We  see,  by  the  instance  of  Saul,  who  found  himself 
well  and  refreshed  when  David  played  upon  the  harp, 
that  their  music  charmed  evil  spirits. §  The  sound 
of  their  instruments  likewise  became  a  means  which 
the  Spirit  of  God  sometimes  used,  when  he  spake  by 
the  prophets,  as  we  find  by  the  example  of  those 
whom  Saul  met,  as  Samuel  had  foretold,  and  with 
whom  he  himself  entered  into  holy  transports  of 
joy  ;||  and  by  that  of  Elisha,  who  asked  for  a  player 
upon  a  minstrel,  that  he  might  prophesy  :**  that  is, 

*  Plato  leg.  vii.     f  See  the  supplement  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 
J  See  Lowth's  Dissertation  on  the  Poetry  of  the  Hebrews ;   and 
Kennicot's  Hebrew  Bible. 
§  1  Sam.  xvi,  23.     j|  1  Sam.  x,  5.     **  2  Kings  iii,  15. 


Ch.  IX.]          Their  Music  and  Poetry.  93 

this  music  appeased  the  motion  of  the  spirits  and 
humours  which  the  devil  had  troubled  in  those  whom 
God  had  permitted  him  to  act  upon  :  and  such  hearts 
as  it  found  quiet  and  pure,  it  lifted  up  to  God,  and 
warmed  them,  and  so  disposed  them  to  receive  the 
powerful  impressions  of  his  Spirit  the  more  effectually. 
The  Greeks  tell  us  of  the  wonderful  effects  of  their 
music  to  excite  or  calm  the  passions ;  and,  unless  we 
contradict  all  history,  it  must  be  owiued  that  the  music 
of  the  ancients  was  more  affecting  than  ours. 

Not  that  it  was  an  uncommon  thing  amongst  them, 
for  they  were  all  musicians  :  and,  to  confine  myself 
to  the  Hebrews,  and  speak  only  of  such  as  were  pro- 
fessed musicians,  there  were  in  David's  time  four  thou- 
sand Levites  appointed  for  that  purpose  only,*  under 
the  direction  of  two  hundred  and  eighty-eight  masters, f 
the  chief  of  whom  were  Asaph,  Heman,  and  Jeduthun, 
so  often  named  in  the  titles  of  the  Psalms.  David 
himself  was  a  great  poet,  and  excellent  musician  ; 
and  it  is  very  well  known  how  much  the  inclination 
of  kings  conduces  to  the  improvement  of  arts.  They 
had  great  variety  of  wind  instruments,  as  trumpets, 
and  flutes  of  different  sorts ;  drums,  and  instruments 
with  strings.  The  two  that  are  most  frequently 
mentioned,  are  kinour  and  nabel,  which  the  Greeks 
have  changed  into  kinyra  and  nabla.  So  that  when 
we  represent  David  with  a  harp,  it  is  only  by  guess. 
They  had  instruments  of  eight  and  ten  strings. 

The  singing  of  the  Greeks  was  accompanied  with 
dancing :  for  that  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  chorus 
or  choir,  which  the  Latins  have  taken  from  the 
Greeks,  and  which  signified  with  them,  a  company 
of  dancers  clothed  and  decked  out  in  the  same  uni- 
form. |  They  sang  together,  and  danced  in  a  ring,  be- 
ing sorted  according  to  their  age  and  sex,  young  men 
and  maids,  old  men  and  wives,  without  mixing  one 

*  1  Chron.  xxiii,  5.     f  Ibid,  xxv,  7. 

J^opoy,  a  dance,  and  often  in  the  profane  writers  a  company  of  dan- 
cers :  hence  x°fiYeu  which  signifies  not  only  to  lead  a  dance,  but  also 
to  furnish  that  kind  of  uniform  used  by  the  chorus  or  company  oi 
dancer?. 


94  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  II. 

with  the  other.  Now,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that 
the  Hebrew  dances  were  less  modest.  —  Choirs  are 
mentioned  at  the  procession  which  David  made  to 
carry  the  ark  into  Sion,  and  upon  occasion  of  seve- 
ral victories,  where  it  is  said  that  the  maidens  came 
out  of  the  cities  dancing  and  singing.* 

I  do  not  perceive  that  the  Israelites  had  any  pub- 
lic schools,  or  that  the  young  men  went  from  their 
fathers'  house  to  study.  Their  laborious  way  of 
living  did  not  admit  of  it.  Their  fathers  had  occa- 
sion for  their  assistance  in  their  work,  and  brought 
them  up  to  it  from  their  childhood.  So  the  word 
school,  in  Greek,  signifies  leisure,^  as  being  the  place 
where  such  people  met,  who,  having  no  urgent  busi- 
ness, endeavoured  to  amuse  themselves  in  an  inno- 
cent manner  :  and  the  Latin  word  Indus,  which  sig- 
nifies play,  conveys  the  same  idea.  I  imagine,  then, 
that  their  learning  was  chiefly  acquired  from  the 
conversation  of  their  fathers  and  old  men,  without 
much  reading  or  regular  lessons. 

Parents  were  obliged  to  inform  their  children  of 
the  great  things  God  had  done  for  them  and  their 
fathers  :  and,  upon  that  account,  the  law  commanded 
them  so  often  to  explain  the  reasons  of  their  feasts 
and  other  religious  ceremonies.^  These  instruc- 
tions, thus  joined  to  sensible  objects,  and  so  fre- 
quently repeated,  could  not  fail  of  having  their  due 
\veight.  They  taught  them,  besides,  every  thing  re- 
lating to  husbandry,  adding  continual  practice  to 
their  lessons.  And  we  cannot  doubt  of  their  being 
very  expert  in  it,  considering  that  for  so  many  ages 
it  was  their  sole  employment.  Now,  though  this 
art  be  followed  amongst  us,  by  uncultivated  people, 
who  seldom  reflect  upon  any  thing,  it  nevertheless 
contains  a  great  extent  of  knowledge,  much  more 
useful  to  mankind  than  that  speculative  sort  which 
is  reckoned  learning.  And  though  we  were  to  allow 
nothing  to  be  science  but  what  we  find  in  books, 


*  2  Sam.  vi,  5,  14,  15,  20,  and  1  Sam.  xviii,  6,  7.    f  S^oX*,  from 
,  to  be  unemployed.    J  Deut.  vi,  7,  20. 


Ch.  XL]  Their  Literature.  95 

both  the  ancients  and  moderns  have  written  suffi- 
cient on  this  subject  to  recommend  it  to  our  esteem.* 

An  Israelite,  therefore,  who,  by  the  tradition  of  his 
fathers,  by  his  own  experience,  and  some  reading, 
was  instructed  in  his  religion,  the  laws  that  he  was 
to  regulate  his  life  by,  and  the  history  of  his  own 
nation,  who  knew  how  to  provide  himself  with  all 
the  necessaries  of  life  ;  who  thoroughly  understood 
the  nature  of  different  soils,  and  the  plants  that  are 
proper  for  them,  the  method  and  time  to  be  observed 
in  planting  them  ;  what  precautions  are  to  be  taken 
against  the  several  accidents  that  destroy  the  fruits 
of  the  earth,  how  they  are  to  be  gathered  and  pre- 
served ;  who  understood  the  nature  of  cattle,  how 
they  are  to  be  fed,  the  distempers  they  are  liable  to, 
with  the  cure  of  them,  and  many  other  things  of  the 
same  kind,  which  most  of  those  that  reckon  them- 
selves men  of  breeding  and  letters  know  nothing  of; 
this  honest  Israelite,  methinks,  would  be  full  as  valu- 
able a  man,  as  one  bred  in  our  inns-of-court,  exche- 
quer, or  in  the  wrangle  of  the  schools.  For  it  must 
be  owned,  that  in  these  latter  ages,  curious  studies  have 
been  too  far  divided  from  those  that  are  useful ;  the 
cultivation  of  the  mind,  and  the  improvement  of  the 
manners,  from  a  due  regard  to  one's  business  and 
health.  Most  of  those  who  are  so  solicitous  about  their 
intellects,  take  too  little  care  of  their  persons,  and  be- 
come unfit  for  action  and  bodily  labour.  Nay,  many 
grow  so  effeminate,  by  giving  themselves  to  music, 
poetry,  and  other  studies  of  a  curious  nature,  that 
with  a  very  high  opinion  of  their  fine  genius  and 
pretended  merit,  they  lead  an  inactive  and  despica- 
ble life. 

There  were,  however,  some  Israelites  that  applied 
themselves  particularly  to  study,  and  may  be  called 

*The  works  of  Cato,  Varro,  Paladius,  the  Georgics  of  Virgil,  and 
many  others,  contain  many  important  lessons  concerning  agriculture, 
which  show  us  that  it  had  been  carried  to  a  great  perfection  in  ancient 
times.  In  the  present  day  it  is  become  a  science  of  the  first  import- 
ance, many  of  the  nobility,  gentry,  and  literati,  cultivating  it  with  the 
utmost  assiduity  and  success. 


96  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II, 

learned  men,  according  to  our  own  ideas.  It  is  said, 
that  in  David's  time  there  were  men  in  the  tribe  of  Is- 
sachar  who  had  understanding  of  the  times  to  know  what 
Israel  ought  to  do.*  And  commentators  say  that 
they  observed  the  stars,  to  regulate  the  feasts  and 
the  whole  course  of  the  year  by  them.  The  pro- 
phet Malachi  says  of  priests  in  general,  that  their  lips 
should  keep  knowledge,  and  that  they  should  seek  the  law 
at  their  mouth.^  One  of  their  chief  functions  there- 
fore was  to  teach  the  law  of  God  in  the  meetings 
which  were  held  in  every  city  on  the  sabbath  day, 
and  which  the  Greeks  called  synagogues  or  churches,^ 
for  both  words  signify  almost  the  same  thing.  Other 
learned  men  were  appointed  to  speak  there  too,  espe- 
cially such  as  were  acknowledged  to  be  prophets, 
inspired  by  God.  These  were  the  public  schools 
of  the  Israelites,  where  they  did  not  teach  curious 
knowledge,  but  religion  and  good  manners  ;  where 
they  did  not  instruct  children  only,  and  some  parti- 
cular persons  who  had  nothing  else  to  do,  but  the 
people  in  general. § 

None  but  the  priests  and  prophets  undertook  to 
compose  books,  especially  history.  \\  It  was  the  same 
in  Egypt.  Their  priests  renounced  all  worldly  affairs. 
They  led  a  very  serious  and  retired  life,  wholly  em- 
ployed in  the  service  of  the  gods,  and  the  study  of 
wisdom.  They  spent  the  day  in  the  offices  of  reli- 
gion, and  the  night  in  mathematical  contemplations, 
for  so  they  called  the  study  of  the  heavens.  They 
were  the  only  historians.  So  the  most  ancient  Ro- 
man histories  were  the  annals  of  their  high  priests. 

We  see  in  Scripture  history  the  character  of  their 
authors.  It  appears  that  they  were  very  serious  and 
very  wise  men ;  old,  and  of  great  experience,  and 
well  informed  of  what  passed  There  is  neither  va- 
nity, nor  flattery,  nor  affectation  in  them  to  show  their 

*  1  Chron.  xii,  32.     J  Malachi  ii,  7.     J  Orig.  cont.  Cels.  1.  iv.  *. 

§  Such  were  the  schools  of  the  prophets  at  Naioth  in  Ramah,  where 
Samuel  presided,  1  Sam.  xix,  19,  20,  &c.,  and  at  Bethel,  where  Elijah 
and  Elisha  gave  public  instructions. 

||  Joseph,  cont.  App.  i,  c-  2- 


Ch.  XI.]  Their  Literalu.-e.  97 

wit :  whereas  all  these  foibles  are  to  be  discovered  in 
the  Greeks,  every  one  of  whom  had  liberty  to  write, 
and  most  of  them  aimed  at  nothing  but  their  own 
glory,  or  that  of  their  nation.  The  Hebrew  histo- 
rians do  not  set  down  their  own  names,  nor  do  they 
ever  conceal  any  circumstance  that  appears  disad- 
vantageous to  themselves  or  their  sovereigns.  They 
that  wrote  the  history  of  David  have  been  as  particu- 
lar in  the  account  of  his  greatest  crime  as  in  any  of 
his  most  righteous  actions. 

They  make  neither  preface  nor  transition ;  they 
only  relate  facts  in  as  clear  a  manner  as  possible, 
without  any  mixture  of  reasoning  or  reflections.  But 
if  we  examine  well  we  shall  find  that  they  chose  the 
facts  which  were  proper  for  their  purpose  with  won- 
derful judgment,  and  this  makes  their  stories  very 
short ;  though,  upon  important  occasions,  they  enter 
into  the  most  exact  detail,  and  set  the  action  before 
the  reader's  eyes  in  very  lively  colours.  It  is  plain 
they  leave  out  reflections  and  exaggerations  on  pur- 
pose, by  their  knowing  so  well  how  to  apply  them  in 
discourses  where  they  have  a  mind  to  work  upon  the 
passions.  So  Moses,  in  Deuteronomy,  makes  use  of 
the  strongest  and  most  expressive  figures  to  magnify 
and  expatiate  upon  what  he  had  only  plainly  related  in 
the  preceding  books.  Thus  the  prophet  Isaiah  barely 
relates  the  defeat  of  Sennacherib,*  after  having  ex- 
aggerated, when  he  foretold  it,  in  a  style  that  is  truly 
poetical. 

The  Hebrews  were  not  less  to  be  admired  in  all 
their  other  ways  of  writing.  Their  laws  are  written 
with  clearness  and  brevity.  Their  maxims  of  moral- 
ity are  contained  in  short  sentences,  adorned  with 
agreeable  figures,  and  expressed  in  a  concise  style ; 
for  alt  this  serves  to  make  them  remembered.  In 
line,  the  poetry  is  sublime,  the  descriptions  lively, 
the  metaphors  bold,  the  expressions  noble,  and  the 
figures  wonderfully  varied.  But  it  would  require 
*  Isaiah  xxxvi,  1,  &c.,  compared  with  xxxvii,  37,  38. 
9 


98  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  II. 

whole  books  to  treat  of  their  eloquence  and  poetry 
in  such  a  manner  as  they  deserve.* 

Though  they  wrote  by  divine  inspiration,  I  do  not 
think  it  necessary  to  impute  all  their  eloquence  to  it. 
They  were  only  inspired  to  speak  truth,  and  to  make 
use  of  no  word  that  was  unfit  to  declare  the  myste- 
rious designs  of  God  :  but  for  any  thing  more  the 
Holy  Ghost  made  use  of  their  natural  manner  of  ex- 
pression. This  is  plain  from  the  different  styles  of 
the  prophets,  and  still  more  so  from  the  likeness  they 
all  bear  to  the  most  ancient  profane  writers.  Homer, 
Herodotus,  and  Hippocrates,  tell  a  story  in  the  same 
way.  Hesiod's  instructions  are  written  in  the  like 
manner. f  The  elegies  of  Theognis  and  Solon  re- 
semble the  exhortations  of  Moses  and  the  prophets. 
We  see  in  Pindar,  and  the  choruses  of  tragedians, 
great  boldness  and  variety  of  poetry  ;  and  the  more 
ancient  Greek  authors  are  the  more  they  resemble 
the  Hebrews,  both  in  the  distinction  of  style,  accord- 
ing to  the  nature  of  the  work,  and  in  their  concise- 
ness and  propriety  of  expression. 

People  may  imagine  that  the  Hebrews  wrote  in 
this  manner  by  the  pure  strength  of  their  genius,  and 
that  the  goodness  of  their  judgment  prompted  them 
to  reject  what  was  not  suitable  to  the  design  of  any 
work,  and  to  make  use  of  what  was  fittest  to  instruct 
or  affect.  For  my  own  part,  when  I  see  that  they 
never  fail  to  observe  a  difference  of  style,  and  they 
apply  all  the  ornaments  of  true  eloquence  so  proper- 
ly, I  am  rather  inclined  to  believe  they  had  already 
some  rules,  taken  from  the  experience  of  their  fa- 
thers, either  in  writing  or  by  tradition  among  the 
learned.  We  must  not  imagine  that  the  Greeks 
invented  eloquence  and  poetry :  the  greatest  share 
they  had  in  it  was  giving  names  to  the  figures,  and 
framing  all  that  artificial  language,-  in  which  the 
knowledge  of  grammarians  and  rhetoricians  .consist- 

*  See  Bishop  Lowth's  Dissertation,  and  his-  Preliminary  Discourse 
to  his  Translati  m  of  the  prophet  Isaiah, 
t  Dembsth.  de  fals.  leg.  et.  alibi. 


Ch.  XI.]          Their  Music  and  Poetry.  99 

ed;  but  which  alone  never  made  either  orators  or 
poets.  The  rudiments  of  the  art  were  discovered  long 
before  ;  for  the  world  was  not  young  at  that  time  ;  it 
had  existed  near  three  thousand  years  before  Solo- 
mon, and  it  is  nearly  three  thousand  since.  Before 
his  time  men's  lives  were  long,  and  there  had  been 
no  inundations  of  barbarians  in  the  countries  where 
arts  and  sciences  had  their  origin. 

A  SUPPLEMENT  TO   CHAPTER  XI. 

Concerning  the  Music  and  Poetry  of  the  Hebrews.    Re- 
ferred to  in  page  92. 

THERE  were  no  instruments  of  music  used  in  the 
worship  of  God  from  the  foundation  of  the  world  till 
the  time  of  David.  He  introduced  singers  and  play- 
ers on  musical  instruments,  but  this  was  rather  by 
the  permission,  than  by  the  express  authority  of 
God.  As  David  was  a  very  elegant  poet,  and  was 
led  to  devote  his  extraordinary  talents  to  the  most 
sublime  and  glorious  of  all  subjects,  the  celebration 
of  the  being  and  attributes  of  the  most  High  God ; 
and  as  instrumental  music  was  generally  a  concomi- 
tant of  the  poetic  gift,  and  probably  observing  a  fond- 
ness for  such  instruments  among  the  people  at  large, 
who  appear  to  have  made  an  improper  use  of  them 
in  feasts,  &c.,*  he  thought  proper  to  consecrate 
them  to  the  service  of  the  sanctuary,  and  composed 
a  variety  of  Odes  or  Psalms  with  which  they  were 
to  be  accompanied  on  the  different  solemnities  obser- 
ved among  the  Jews. 

It  is  in  vain  to  attempt  to  trace  the  use  of  musi- 
cal .instruments  in  the  service  of  God  any  higher 
than  the  days  of  David  ;  for  the  horns  and  trumpets 
which  were  in  use  before,  appear  to  have  answered 
no  other  purpose  than  merely  to  convoke  the  public 
assemblies,  as  bells  were  not  then  in  use.  Nor  does 
it  appear  from  any  part  of  the  Scriptures,  as  far  as 
I  can  recollect,  that  their  introduction  was  ever 
*  Sec  Isa.  v.  12,  compared  with  Amos  v,  23,  and  vi,  1—5, 


100  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  II 

sanctified  by  divine  authority.  In  1  Chron.  xvi,  42, 
it  is  said,  that  Heman  and  Jeduthun  were  appointed 
with  trumpets  and  cymbals  for  those  that  should  make  a 
sound  ;  and  with  musical  instruments  of  God ;  and  this 
text  is  supposed  to  be  a  clear  proof  that  these  were* 
of  divine  appointment.  But  the  last  clause,  musical 
instruments  of  God,  when  examined  in  the  original, 
will  not  support  this  inference.  a-nb«n  TP  '*?j  kelee 
sheer  haeloheem,  literally  signifies,  the  instruments  of 
God's  song  :  properly  translated  by  the  Septuagint 
o^yava  TUV  uSuv  <rou  dsov,  the  organs  of  the  songs  of  God. 
The  parallel  text  in  2  Chron.  vii,  6,  the  instruments 
of  music  of  the  Lord,  has  precisely  the  same  mean- 
ing with  the  above,  the  words  being  the  same,  only 
run-  yehovah  is  in  the  latter  text  put  for  OTiSs  eloheem 
in  the  former.  The  song  God  inspired,  and  com- 
manded to  be  sung ;  but  the  instruments  were  of  a 
different  appointment. 

In  the  first,  the  pure  and  perfect  ages  of  the  Chris- 
tian church,  there  were  no  instruments  of  music 
used  in  the  worship  of  God  :  indeed  had  they  been 
proposed,  they  would  doubtless  have  been  considered 
by  the  primitive  Christians  as  an  attempt  to  judaize 
Christianity,  by  conforming  the  church  to  the  syna- 
gogue. 

The  Syriac  version  of  1  Chron.  xvi,  41,  42,  is 
very  remarkable.  I  shall  subjoin  a  literal  translation 
of  it,  which  the  reader  may  compare  with  the  Eng- 
lish version  or  with  the  Hebrew  text.  "  These  are 
the  names  of  the  men  who  were  employed  in  praises. 
Heman  and  Erithun  (and  other  righteous  men  whose 
names  are  unknown)  that  they  might  give  thanks  to 
the  Lord  whose  goodness  is  everlasting.  And  these 
are  the  righteous  men  who  did  not  sing  with  instru- 
ments of  music,  nor  with  drums,  nor  with  sistrums 
(or  harps,)  nor  with  pipes  crooked  or  straight,  nor 
with  cymbals  ;  but  they  sung  with  a  joyous  mouth, 
and  with  a  pure  and  perfect  prayer,  with  innocence 
and  integrity  before  the  Lord  God  Almighty,  the  God 
of  Israel."  The  Arabic  version  is  almost  word  for 


Ch.  XL]          Their  Music  and  Poetry.  101 

word  with  the  above.  As  the  Syriac  version  was 
made  about  the  second  century  (some  think  in  the 
apostolic  age)  and  probably  by  a  Christian,  we  may 
see  from  the  turn  he  gave  to  the  original,  that  instru- 
mental music  in  that  time  was  not  esteemed  in  the 
church  of  God.  Indeed  it  seems  to  have  no  good 
influence,  and  is  only  calculated  to  draw  light,  vain 
and  giddy  persons  together. 

Where  poetry  had  attained  such  a  high  state  of 
cultivation  as  the  poetic  compositions  of  the  Hebrew 
prophets  sufficiently  prove,  instrumental  music  must 
have  kept  proportionable  pace.  According  to  the  ac- 
counts of  the  rabbins,  the  Hebrews  had  moFe  instru- 
ments of  music  among  them  than  any  other  people  on 
the  earth.  They  generally  reckon  about  thirty-four 
different  kinds.  Calmet,  who  has  examined  this  sub- 
ject with  great  accuracy  and  critical  acumen,  Dis- 
sertation sur  les  instrumens  de  musique  des  Hebreux, 
prefixed  to  his  commentary  on  the  Psalms,  reduces 
this  number  by  taking  away  the  following,  fourteen. 

1.  NEGINOTH  (nirjj)  translated,  by  the  Ixx,  u^vos 
a  hymn,  and  by  the  Vulgate  canticum,  a  song,  signi- 
fies those  who  play  on  instruments,  or  the  pieces 
themselves  which  are  played.    See  Job  xxx,  9 ;  Psal. 
Ixix,  12,  and  the  titles  of  several  Psalms. 

2.  NEHILOTH  (mVnj)  signifies  dances,  or  choirs 
of  dancing  women,  from  the  verb  S^n  chalal,  to  dance. 
It  is  found  in  the  title  of  Psal.  v. 

3.  SHEMINITH  (jvroip) :  as  this  word  literally  sig^ 
nifies  the  eighth,  and  as  we  find  this  used  for  an  eighth 
course  of  musicians,  1  Chron.  xv,  21,  it  probably  has 
the  same  meaning  in  Psal.  vi,  in  the  title  of  which 
it   stands  in  connexion  with   Neginoth  mentioned 
above. 

4.  SHIGGAION  (p'Jtf)  signifies  a  song  of  consola- 
tion in  distress,  or  a  poetic  composition  similar  to 
our  elegy.     It  is  found  in  the  title  of  Psalm  vii,  and 
the  plural  Shigionoth,  in  Habakkuk  iii,  1. 

5.  GITTITH  (n-rvi)  a  person  of  Gath,  or  the  wine 
pressing,  probably  an  air  or  song  sung  at  the  time  of 

9* 


102  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II 

vintage.    It  occurs  in  the  titles  of  the  8th,  81st,  and 
34th  Psalms. 

6.  MUTHLABBEN  ({3*?niD  ty)  almuthlaben,  concern- 
ing the  death  of  the  son.     Title  of  Psalm  9th.     In  1 
Chron.  xvi,  20,  alamoth  (runty)  is  used  which  signi- 
fies damsels,  or  virgins,  and  Calmet  thinks  that  a 
band  of  female  musicians  is  meant,  and  that  Laben 
i.  e.  to  Ben,  refers  to  Beniah  who  was  set  over  the 
band. 

7.  MICHTAM  (oron)  this  occurs  in  the  titles  of 
the  16th,  56th,  57th,  58th,  59th  and  60th  Psalms.    It 
comes  from  the  root  oro  katham  to  inscribe,  or  en- 
grave :  and  as  it  is  always  accompanied  with  nnV  le 
david,  to  David,  it  probably  signifies  that  those  Psalms 
were  particularly  attributed  to  David.     Those,  says 
Calmet,  who  wish  to  make  it  signify  an  instrument 
of  music,  only  make  use  of  this  cloak  to  cover  their 
idleness  or  ignorance. 

8.  AYELETH  SHAHAR  (ins^n  rirx)  Psal.  xxii,  1, 
translated  by  the  Septuagint,  the  reception,  or  succour 
of  the  morning,  and  by  others,  the  hind  of  the  morn- 
ing ;  appears  to  signify  a  band  of  either  male  or  fe- 
male musicians,  or  a  Psalm  that  was  sung  at  break 
of  day. 

9.  SHOSHANNIM    (cniyK>)    Psalm   xliv,  lx,  lxix? 
Ixxx,  variously  translated  by  the  ancients  and  mo- 
derns,  seems  to  mean  rejoicings  :    and  as   all   the 
Psalms  to  which  it  is  prefixed  seem  to  be  composed 
for  festive  occasions,  particularly  weddings,  it  is  pro- 
bable the  word  only  points  out  the  rejoicings  used  on 
such  occasions. 

10.  MAHALATH  (n^nn)  title  of  Psalm  53d,  signi- 
fies a  dance,  such  as  was  used  at  some  religious  as- 
semblies.   See  Exod.  xv,  20;  Jud.  xxi,  21;   1  Sam. 
gvii,  6. 


11.  JONATII  ELEM  RECHOKIM  (o'prn  oV«  njv) 
The  dumb  dove  in  Its  banishment,  probably  the  air  or 
tune  to  which  some  particular  Psalm  or  ode  was  sung 

12.  HIGAION  (jvjn)  Psalm  xciiv  4,  from  n:n  to 
murmur,  growl,  or  coo,  was  either  a  deep  hollow  bass 


Oh.  XL]          Their  Music  and  Poetry.  103 

in  the  music ;  or  a  mournful  tune,  sung  on  occasions 
of  public  or  private  calamity.  But  from  its  con- 
nexion in  the  above  passage  with  several  musical  in- 
struments, it  may  probably  signify  some  kind  of  harp, 
or  some  mournful  accompaniment  in  the  voice  like 
our  recitative. 

13.  MASCHIL  CTJ^D)  occurs  in  the  titles  of  Psalms 
32d,  42d,  44th,  52d,  74th,  78th,  and  142d;  as  it  is 
evidently  derived  from  the  root  ^Jty  to  be  wise,  to 
behave  wisely  or  prudently,  it  signifies  simply  to  give 
instruction.     The   Psalms  to  which  it  is  prefixed* 
are  to  be  considered  as  peculiarly  calculated  to  give 
instruction   and    direction    in   the   most   important 
matters  which  respect  the  well-being  of  the  body 
and  soul. 

14.  AL  TASCHITH  (nntyn  bx)  This  term  literally 
means  destroy  not;  and  may  signify  either  a  depre- 
cation of  deserved  punishment,  or  an  exhortation  to 
take  care  of  and  preserve  in  a  particular  manner 
those  Psalms  to  which  it  is  prefixed.     They  are  the 
four  following,  57th,  58th,  59th,  and  75th. 

I  am  of  Calmet's  opinion,  that  none  of  these  sig- 
nifies any  musical  instrument,  unless  the  Higaion 
mentioned  under  No.  12. 

In  the  Pentateuch  seven  different  kinds  of  musical 
instruments  are  mentioned,  viz.  The  kinnor,  or  lyre, 
an  instrument  with  three  cords.  The  huggab,  01 
mouth  organ,  composed  of  seven  unequal  pipes. 
The  tuph,  or  tambour,  the  skin  being  extended  only 
over  one  side.  The  machalath,  probably  a  sort  of 
bagpipe.  The  chazazeroth,  the  long  straight  trum- 
pets made  by  Moses  in  the  wilderness,  and  the  scho- 
phar  or  trumpet.  To  these  some  add  the  jubal  01 
jobel,  supposed  to  have  been  a  sort  of  musical  instru- 
ment made  out  of  a  ram's  horn  ;  but  this  is  a  mistake, 
for  there  is  no  proper  evidence  that  there  ever  was 
such  an  instrument.* 

In  the  books  of  Kings,  Chronicles,  and  the  Pro- 
phets, mention  is  made  of  nabelim,  psalteries  or 
*  See  the  Note  at  the  end  of  C.  xvj. 


104  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  II. 

harps  :  MEZILOTHAIM,  cymbals.  MENANAIM,  differ- 
ent kinds  of  flutes,  and  ZALZELIM,  cymbals,  according 
to  some;  and  sistrums  according  to  others.  SHALI- 
SHIM,  sonorous  trigons,  or  triangles,  and  MEZILO- 
THAIM, a  species  of  small  bells. 

In  Daniel  iii,  5,  the  following  are  mentioned.  K  AR- 
NA,  the  cornet  or  horn  :  MASHROKITA,  the  flagelot  : 
KITHROS,  the  cithara  or  harp  :  SABEKA,  the  sacbut,  a 
species  of  cymbal  :  PESANTERIN,  the  psaltery  or  a 
species  of  harp  in  form  of  an  equilateral  triangle, 
nearly  the  same  as  the  nabla  :  SUMPHONIA,  a  dulci- 
mer or  cymbal  with  four  strings.  The  GNASUR  or 
HASUR  (~\wy)  mentioned  in  the  Psalms,  appears  to 
have  been  an  instrument  of  ten  strings  similar  to  or 
the  same  with  the  cythara  or  harp.  As  the  nabla  or 
kinoor  were  the  most  common,  a  farther  description 
may  be  necessary. 

NABLA  or  NEBEL  (Saj)  a  stringed  musical  instru- 
ment, probably  so  called  from  its  belly  resembling  a 
jug  or  flagon,  2  Sam.  vi,  5.  Psa.  xxxiii,  2.  Athenaeus 
says,  "  Na£Xa  poivixwv  sivai  ^fxa,  the  nabla  was  invent- 
ed by  the  Phoenicians,"  which  he  proves  from  these 
words  of  Sopater, 


Aafvyyot/itavos 

And  the  Sidonian  nabla, 

Sonorous  instrument,  is  not  unstrung. 

I\*a£Xa  here  seems  undeclinable,  like  the  Phoenician 
and  Syriac  vhi).  Heb.  ^j.  Strabo,  lib.  x,  p.  722, 
Edit.  Amstel.  acknowledges  that  the  name  is  barba- 

rous or  foreign  ;  ruv  o^yavwv  svia  fapSa^wj  ovofjiarf-ri,  va§Xa 
xai  rfa^ux*)  •/;  xai  §ap§iro?,  xai  aXXa  isXeiu,  "  Some  mu- 
sical  instruments  have  barbarous  names,  as  the  nabla 
and  sambuke,  the  barbitos,  the  magadis,  and  several 
others."  Josephus,  Ant.  lib.  vii,  cap.  12,  §  3,  de- 
scribes it  thus  :  H  5s  va€Xa,  SuSsxa  (pdo/Jsg'  gj^rfa  ro».c 
^axruXoiff  KPOTETAI.  "  The  nabla  has  twelve  sounds, 
and  is  struck  or  played  upon  with  the  fingers."  In 
playing  it  was  turned  about  with  both  hands.  Thus 
Ovid  de  Arte  Amandi,  lib.  iii. 


Ch.  XL]         Their  Music  and  Poetry.  105 

Disce  etiam  duplici  genialia  nablia  palmu. 
Vertere  ;  conveniunt  dulcibus  ilia  modis. 

Its  name,  like  that  of  the  utricularis  tibia,  (English 
bagpipe,)  is  taken  from  its  resemblance  to  a  bottle  or 
flagon,  (utris,)  for  thus  also  ^733  signifies. 

It  began  to  be  in  use  about  the  time  of  David. 
This  may  be  gathered  from  its  being  mentioned  by 
David  in  several  places  of  the  Psalms,  and  by  the 
sacred  writers  who  succeeded,  but  never  once  by 
those  who  preceded  him.  Hesychius  says  it  was 
(Wrjpcov  a  harsh  sounding  instrument.  Others,  how- 
ever, highly  commend  it.  And  in  the  Adulterer  of 
Philemon,  when  one  says  that  he  knows  not  what 
the  nabla  is,  another  replies,  Oux  oirfda  vaS>.av ;  soav  sv 
wrfd'  ayadov.  "  Not  know  the  nabla  !  Then  thou  know- 
est  nought  that  is  good."  Thus  Bochart,  vol.  1,  p. 
728.  And  from  the  passage  of  Sopater  there  produ- 
ced, from  what  Josephus  says  of  the  nabla,  and  from 
his  joining  it  in  the  place  above  cited  with  the  xivu^a, 
of  which  he  says  H  ,asv  xwu^a,  Ssxa  x°S^MS  *t£*W*tifiVffc  TU-TTS- 
rau  -sXyjxTfw,  that  "  it  is  furnished  with  ten  strings,  and 
played  upon  with  a  plectrum."  From  all  this  taken 
together  I  say  it  is  manifest  that  the  nabla  was  a 
stringed  instrument,  and  therefore  not,  as  a  very  in- 
genious writer,  to  whom  I  am  very  much  obliged,  has 
supposed,  a  kind  of  bagpipe,  such  as  Dr.  Russell* 
informs  us  is  still  in  use  about  Aleppo.  From  Psa. 
xxxiii,  2,  cxliv,  9,  the  nabla  appears  to  have  some- 
times at  least  had  only  ten  strings.  And  the  Targum, 
Syriac,  Septuagint  and  Vulgate,  in  both  passages  agree 
in  this  explanation  of  the  word  wy  gnasur  or  hasur. 

The  KINOOR  (-OJ3)  was  a  musical  instrument  of  the 
stringed  kind,  a  lute,  harp,  or  the  like,  played  on  with 
the  hand,  according  to  1  Sam.  xvi,  23  ;  though  Jose- 
phus, Ant.  lib.  vii,  cap.  12,  §  3.  Edit.  Hudson,  says, 
that  the  cinyra  david,  made  for  the  Levites,  was  fur- 
nished with  ten  strings,  and  played  on  with  a  plec- 
trum.— From  this  word  no  doubt  are  derived  not  only 
the  Greek  xivupa,  a  harp,-by  which  the  seventy  very  fre- 

Nat.  Hist,  of  Aleppo,  p.  94, 


106  Manners  of  the.  Israelites.  [Part  II: 

quently  render  it,  but  also  xivu^og-  and  xivuperfdai,  signify- 
ing lamentation  or  moaning.  Whence  as  Bochart, 
vol.  i,  p.  729,  has  observed,  it  is  probable  that  the 
Greeks  Used  this  instrument  on  mournful  occasions  ; 
whereas  amon^  the  Hebrews,  playing  on  the  ~nj3 
kinoor  was  a  sign  of  joy,  as  Gen.  xxxi,  27  ;  2  Chron. 
xx,  27,  28 ;  Job  xxi,  12  ;  Psa.  cxliv,  2,  3.  Hence, 
however,  as  he  farther  remarks,  it  will  not  follow  that 
the  Hebrew  ^JJ  kinoor  and  Grecian  xivu^a  were  in- 
struments of  different  kinds  ;  since  the  same  sort  of 
instruments  might  affect  the  mind  in  different  man- 
ners,' according  as  it  was  differently  played  upon. 
See  Isa.  xvi,  11,  and  Calmet  as  above,  and  Parkhurst. 

Effects  the  most  astonishing  and  almost  preterna- 
tural are  attributed  in  the  Scriptures  to  the  Hebrew 
music.  To  produce  these  the  poetic  compositions 
must  have  been  exquisitely  grand,  the  instruments 
perfect  in  their  kinds,  and  perfectly  adapted  to  the 
effects  they  were  intended  to  produce,  and  the  musi- 
cians uncommonly  skilful.  Of  their  instruments  we 
know  little  besides  the  names,  and  even  the  significa- 
tion of  these  is  by  no  means  well  ascertained.  But 
much  of  their  poetry  remains,  and  is  a  standing 
monument  of  the  high  state  of  cultivation  to  which 
the  most  difficult  of  all  sciences  had  arrived  at  a  very 
early  period,  among  a  people  whom  the  proud  and 
insolent  Greeks  affected  to  call  barbarians. 

Even  an  infidel  who  is  capable  of  examining  the 
poetic  compositions  of  the  Hebrews  in  their  original 
language,  will  allow  that  they  possess  all  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  most  energetic,  sublime,  and  affecting 
poetry.  In  sacred  poetry  the  inspired  writers  alone 
have  succeeded  :  it  belongs  to  the  divine  Spirit  to 
describe  the  things  of  God  in  a  suitable  manner,  and 
in  appropriate  language  ;  several  eminent  men  have 
written  upon  this  subject,  and  written  well :  but  there 
is  one  point  on  which  little  has  been  said:  viz.  the 
combination  of  sense  and  sound  in  various  parts  of  the 
poetic  compositions  of  the  Hebrew  writers.  For 
lull  evidence  of  the  exquisite  art  possessed  by  some 


Ch.  XL]  Their  Music  and  Poetry.  107 

of  the  prophets  in  conveying  the  sense  of  their  words 
by  their  sounds,  I  shall  refer  the  learned  reader,  first 
to  the  original  of  David's  lamentation  over  Saul  and 
Jonathan,  2  Sam.  i,  19-27.  This  lamentation  is  justly 
admired,  says  Dr.  Kennicott,  as  a  picture  of  distress, 
the  most  tender  and  the  most  striking;  unequally 
divided  by  grief  into  longer  and  shorter  breaks,  as 
nature  could  pour  them  forth  from  a  mind  interrupted 
by  the  alternate  recurrence  of  the  most  lively  images 
of  love  and  greatness.  His  reverence  for  Saul,  and  his 
love  for  Jonathan,  have  their  strongest  colourings; 
but  their  greatness  and  bravery  come  full  upon  him, 
and  are  expressed  with  peculiar  energy. 

Being  himself  a  warrior,  it  is  in  that  character  he  sees 
their  greatest  excellence,  and  though  his  imagina- 
tion hurries  from  one  point  of  recollection  to  ano- 
ther ;  yet  we  hear  him  at  first  —  at  last  —  every  where 
lamenting  -  '  How  are  the  mighty  fallen  !'  It  is 
almost  impossible  to  read  the  noble  original,  without 
finding  every  word  swollen  with  a  sigh  or  broken 
with  a  sob.  A  heart  pregnant  with  distress,  and  stri- 
ving to  utter  expressions  descriptive  of  its  feelings, 
(which  are  repeatedly  interrupted  by  an  excess  of 
grief,)  is  most  sensibly  painted  throughout  the  whole. 
Even  an  English  reader  may  be  convinced  of  this, 
from  the  following  specimen,  which  includes  only 
the  three  last  hemistichs. 

.Mphleathah  ahabtecha  lie  meahabath  nashim. 
Thy  love  to  me  was  wonderful,  beyond  the  love  of  women. 


Eik  naphelu  gibborim. 
How  are  the  mighty  fallen  ! 

nonSo  '^3  na»n 

Wayobedn  kelee  milchamah. 
And  the  weapons  of  war  perished  ! 

The  Psalms  afford  several  instances  of  this  con- 
nexion of  sense  and  sound.  The  following  from 
Psal.  xviii,  15,  is  a  fine  specimen. 

onm  on  n'piai 

Oobrakkeem  rabb  Vayhummem. 
And  lightnings  he  multiplied  and  confounded  them  : 


108  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II. 

in  which  Dr.  Delany  has  justly  observed,  the  rat- 
tling and  pounding  of  thunder  are  distinctly  heard  in 
the  sounds  of  the  original  words. 

We  have  another  striking  example  in  the  10th 
verse  : 


Wayircav  hhal  kerub  waiyahoph. 
He  rode  upon  a  cherub  and  did  fly  ; 

nn  '933  ^>y  Kvi 

Wayede  hhal  kanphee  roodch. 
Yea,  he  flew  on  the  wings  of  the  wind  ! 

How  astonishingly  are  the  bloicing  and  rushing  of 
the  wind  expressed  in  the  last  word  of  each  hemis- 
tich !  The  clap  of  the  wing  also  in  the  word  '3J3 
Kanphee  may  be  distinctly  heard.  Could  such  a  co- 
incidence be  the  effect  of  accident  ? 

Sternhold  and  Hopkins  have  succeeded  in  their 
version  of  this  place,  not  only  beyond  all  their  other 
efforts,  but  also  beyond  every  ancient  and  modern 
poet  on  a  similar  subject.  Their  version  conveys 
the  true  spirit  of  the  original,  and  by  those  who  un- 
derstand it,  will  be  found  to  be  surprisingly  literal. 

"  On  cherub  and  on  cherubim 

Full  royally  he  rode  ; 
And  on  the  wings  of  all  the  winds 

Came  flying  all  abroad  ;" 

But  the  most  complete  and  striking  examples  of 
the  combination  of  sense  and  sound  which  I  recol- 
lect to  have  met  with  in  the  sacred  writings,  are  the 
two  following  :  the  first  is  taken  from  Psal.  Ixxxi,  14. 


^  ynw 

Loo  ghammee  shomeagh  lee 
O  that  my  people  had  hearkened  unto  me, 


Yisrael  biderakec  yehallekoo  ! 
And  Israel  had  walked  in  my  ways  ! 

The  deep  hollow  sounds  in  these  words,  interspersed 
and  interrupted  at  proper  distances  with  strong  gut- 
turals, show  a  mind  so  much  penetrated  with  sorrow 
and  distress,  that  every  accent  forcibly  expresses 
the  anguish  of  the  heart  ;  and  the  sounds  as  strongly 
as  the  sense  unite  in  a  last  effort  of  sorrowful  affection- 


Ch.  XII.]     The  Politeness  of  the  Israelites.  109 

ate  eloquence,  to  call  back  an  ungrateful  and  rebel- 
lious, but  tenderly  beloved  people  to  a  sense  of  their 
duty  and  interest  ;  that  their  otherwise  unavoidable 
destruction  might  be  prevented. 

The  second  is  contained  in  Isa.  xxiv,  16. 


Wayomer  razee  lee,  razee  lee. 
And  I  said,  My  leanness  !  my  leanness  ! 

iHJfa  D'tJD  *S  MX 

Jlue.e  lee,  bogedeem  bagadoo, 
Wo  is  me  !  the  treacherous  dealers  have  dealt  treacherously  ! 


run  cma  nj3i 

Oobeged  bogedeem,  bagadoo. 
Yea,  the  treacherous  dealers  have  dealt  treacherously  ! 

I  question  whether  the  justly  celebrated 


B>j  &'  aKtiav  Ttapa  6iva  iro\v(]>\oi 

Silent,  he  wandered  by  the  sounding  mean. 

Iliad,  i,  v,  32. 

where  the  swelling  of  the  wave  and  its  dash  upon 
the  beach  are  inimitably  expressed  by  the  sounds  of 
the  words  ;  or  the  famous 

Quadrupedante  putrem  sonitu  quatit  ungula  campum. 

.....         the  thundering  coursers  bound 

Thro'  clouds  of  dust,  and  paw  the  trembling  ground. 

Virgil,  En.  viii,  1.  596. 

where  the  numbers  of  the  verse  perfectly  imitate  the 
prancing  or  trotting  of  the  steeds,  possess  such  a 
claim  to  distinguished  excellence  as  the  above.  Were 
ever  plaintive  sobbings  more  forcibly  expressed  than 
in  the  two  last  hemistichs  ? 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Politeness  of  the  Israelites. 

To  return  to  the  common  sort  of  the  Hebrews. 
Since  they  were  so  well  instructed,  and  born  in  a 
country  where  people  are  naturally  ingenuous,  they 
could  not  fail  of  being  polite  :  for  we  are  not  to  sup- 
pose that  inconsistent  with  a  country  life  and  bodil> 
10 


110  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II. 

labour.  The  example  of  the  Greeks  plainly  proves 
the  contrary.  I  mean  by  politeness  here,  in  general, 
whatsoever  distinguishes  us  from  barbarous  nations  : 
on  one  side,  humanity  and  civility,  demonstrations  of 
friendship  and  respect  in  the  common  transactions 
of  life  :  and  on  the  other,  prudence  in  business,  ad- 
dress, and  propriety  of  behaviour,  and  all  that  comes 
under  the  denomination  of  good  conduct. 

As  to  civility,  the  Greeks,  living  for  the  most  part 
in  commonwealths,  were  so  jealous  of  their  liberty 
that  they  treated  one  another  as  equals,  and  their 
compliments  went  no  farther  than  showing  esteem 
and  friendship,  in  which  the  Romans  imitated  them. 
The  civilities  of  the  eastern  people  came  nearer  to 
ours,  and  were  most  respectful.  They  called  those 
lords,  whom  they  had  a  mind  to  honour,  made  vows 
of  obedience  to  them,  and  bowed  themselves  to  the 
earth  before  them,  which  the  Scripture  calls  adoring. 
The  Hebrews  did  so  even  before  they  had  kings, 
as  early  as  the  time  of  the  patriarchs :  which  pro- 
ceeded, in  all  likelihood,  from  the  customs  of  the 
neighbouring  people,  who  had  long  been  subject  to 
masters.  It  was  not  reckoned  ill  manners  to  say 
thou  and  thee  to  each  other ;  all  the  ancients  spoke 
in  that  manner,  and  most  nations  still  do  so.  It  was 
not  till  about  the  decay  of  the  Roman  empire  that 
the  plural  began  to  be  used  in  speaking  to  one  person. 
It  was  usual  to  kiss  in  saluting  :  and  instead  of 
uncovering,  as  we  do,  out  of  respect,  they  pulled  oft' 
their  shoes  when  they  went  into  sacred  places,  as  the 
eastern  nations  do  to  this  day.  Uncovering  the  head 
was  a  sign  of  mourning. 

We  see  examples  of  their  compliments  in  those  of 
Ruth,*  Abigail,!  the  woman  of  Tekoah,:}:  whom  Joab 
employed  to  get  Absalom  recalled,  and  Judith. §  All 
these  are  examples  of  women,  who  are  generally 
more  complaisant  than  men.  They  liked  to  speak  in 
parables  and  ingenious  riddles.  Their  language  was 

*  Ruth  ii,  10,  13.  1 1  Sam.  xxv,  23,  41.  |2  Sam,  sir,  4,  9,  17. 
§  Judiths,  23. 


Ch.  XIII.]  Their  Amusements.  Ill 

modest  and  chaste,  but  in  a  different  way  from  ours. 
They  said  the  water  of  the  feet,  for  urine  ;  and  to  cover 
the  feet,  for  easing  nature  ;  because  in  that  action 
they  covered  themselves  with  their  mantle,  after  they 
had  dug  a  hole  in  the  ground.*  They  said  the  thigh) 
when  they  meant  the  parts  which  modesty  forbids  to 
name.  In  other  respects  they  have  expressions  that 
seem  very  harsh  to  us ;  as  when  they  speak  of  con- 
ception and  the  birth  of  children,  of  women  that  are 
fruitful  or  barren,  and  make  no  scruple  of  naming 
some  infirmities  of  both  sexes  which  we  make  use  of 
circumlocution  to  express. 

All  these  differences  proceed  only  from  distance 
of  time  and  place.  Most  of  the  words,  which  are 
now  immodest  according  to  the  present  use  of  our 
language,  were  not  so  formerly,  because  they  convey- 
ed other  ideas  ;  and  the  eastern  people,  especially  the 
Mohammedans,  are  ridiculously  nice  about  certain 
indecencies  that  have  no  influence  upon  the  man- 
ners, whilst  they  give  themselves  great  liberty  in  the 
most  infamous  pleasures.  The  Scripture  speaks 
more  plainly  than  we  should  do  of  conjugal  affairs, 
because  the*e  was  not  one  Israelite  that  renounced 
marriage,  and  they  that  wrote  were  grave  and  com- 
monly old  men. 

As  for  prudence,  good  or  bad  conduct,  address, 
complaisance,  artifice,  and  court  intrigues,  the  histo- 
ry of  Saul  and  David  furnishes  us  with  as  many  ex- 
amples of  them  as  any  other  with  which  I  am  ac- 
quainted. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Their  Amusements. 


THEIR  easy  and  quiet  life,  added  to  the  beauty  oi 

the  country,  inclined  them  to  amusements  ;  but  such 

as  were  rational,  and  easy  to  be  procured.     They 

had  scarcely  any  but  music  and  conviviality.     Their 

*  Deut.  xxiii,  13. 


1 12  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         Part  II.] 

feasts,  as  I  have  before  observed,  were  made  of  plain 
meat,  which  they  had  out  of  their  own  stock :  and 
their  music  cost  them  still  less,  since  most  people 
knew  how  to  sing  and  play  upon  some  instrument. 
Old  Barzillai  names  only  these  two  pleasures,  when 
he  was  too  far  advanced  in  years  to  relish  life.* 
The  author  of  Ecclesiasticus  compares  a  concert  of 
music  in  a  banquet  of  wine  to  a  signet  of  carbuncle  set 
in  g-o/d.f  So  Ulysses  frankly  owned  to  the  Phaea- 
cians,  that  he  knew  no  greater  happiness  than  a 
feast  accompanied  with  music. J  We  see  the  same 
pleasures  mentioned  in  those  passages  of  Scripture, 
where  the  prophets  reproached  those  that  abused 
them,  but  they  added  excess  of  wine,  crowns  and 
flowers,  and  perfumes,  as  we  see  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  did.§ 

We  have  a  catalogue  of  the  perfumes  which  the 
Hebrews  made  use  of  in  the  Song  of  Solomon,  and 
many  other  places  of  Scripture  ;  but  especially  in 
the  law,  where  it  prescribes  the  composition  of  two 
sorts  that  were  to  be  offered  to  God ;  the  one  wet, 
and  the  other  dry.||  The  drugs  there  named  for 
making  them  are  the  most  odoriferous  that  were 
known,  before  musk  and  ambergrise  were  found  out. 

They  loved  eating  in  gardens  under  arbours  and 
shady  places,  for  it  is  natural  in  hot  countries  to  seek 
coolness  and  fresh  air.  So  when  the  Scripture  de- 
scribes a  time  of  prosperity,  it  says  that  every  one 
ate  and  drank  under  his  own  vine  and  under  his  own 
fig  tree,  which  fruit  trees  have  the  broadest  leaves.** 

Their  employment  in  country  labour  did  not  allow 
of  their  feasting  or  following  their  diversions  every 
day,  as  most  of  the  rich  do  now ;  but  it  served  to 
make  them  relish  them  better.  They  had  therefore 
stated  times  of  rejoicing,  sabbathdays,  and  all  other 
feasts  taken  notice  of  in  the  law,  weddings,  dividing 
the  spoil  after  victory,  sheep-shearing,  harvest  and 

*  2  Sam.  six,  35.  f  Ecclus.  xxxii,  5,  6.  J  Odyss.  lib.  viii.  §  Amos 
vi,  4,  6.  Isaiah  v,  11,  12.  Ibid,  xxviii,  3.  ||  Exod.  xxx,  23,  &c 
'*  I  Kings  iv,  4,  5.  Mic.  iv,  4.  Zech.  iii,  10. 


Ch.  XIII.]  Their  Amusements.  113 

vintage,  in  each  particular  estate,  where  the  neigh- 
bours came  together  to  assist  each  other.*  It  is 
well  known  that  the  feasts  of  Bacchus  and  Ceres 
had  their  rise  among  the  Greeks  from  such  rejoi- 
cings ;  and  we  still  see  some  footsteps  of  it  among 
the  country  people. f  The  Israelites  had  no  profane 
showrs.  They  were  contented  with  the  ceremonies 
of  religion,  and  the  pomp  of  sacrifices,  which  must 
needs  have  been  very  great,  since  the  temple  was 
the  most  magnificent  building  in  the  whole  country, 
and  there  were  thirty-two  thousand  Levites  appointed 
for  its  service. 

I  do  not  perceive  that  they  had  either  gaming  or 
hunting,  which  are  reckoned  with  us  among  the 
highest  diversions.  As  to  gaming,  it  seems  as  if  they 
were  entirely  ignorant  of  it,  since  we  do  not  so  much 
as  once  find  the  name  of  it  in  the  whole  Scripture. 
Not  but  the  people  of  Lydia  had  already  invented 
games,  if  what  is  said  of  them  be  true  4  But  to  this 
day  the  Arabians,  and  some  other  eastern  nations, 
play  at  no  games  of  hazard,  at  least  if  they  observe 
their  law.  As  to  hunting,  either  beasts  or  birds,  it 
was  not  unknown  to  the  Israelites ;  but  it  looks  as 
if  they  followed  it  rather  for  furnishing  their  tables, 
and  preserving  their  corn  and  vines,  than  for  plea- 
sure. For  they  often  speak  of  nets  and  snares,  but 
we  do  not  find  that  even  their  kings  had  either  dogs 
or  any  hunting  equipage.  It  would  no  doubt  have 
made  them  odious  to  have  hunted  over  ploughed  lands, 
or  bred  beasts  to  do  mischief. §  Hunting  prevails 
chiefly  in  the  vast  forests  and  untilled  lands  of  eold 
countries. 

*  Isaiah  ix,  3.     Ibid,  xvi,  9,  10. 

t  In  the  feasts  usually  made  at  the  conclusion  of  harvest,  and  bring- 
ing home  the  corn. 

$  Herodotus  says,  Clio.  p.  45,  that  the  Lydians  invented  the  play^ 
of  Dice,  Tennis,  Tables,  &c.  (^tvptGnvai  Ss  <av  rare  /cat  riav  mfav,  *a< 
riav  atpayaXwv,  (cat  TIJS  c^atpi?;)  to  divert  and  amuse  them  in  a  time  of 
great  scarcity :  but  the  account  is  accompanied  with  such  circumstan- 
ces as  render  it  incredible. 

§As  it  does  those  who  employ  themselves  in  this  unmanly  ami 
destructive  exercise  in  the  present  day. 

10* 


114  .Manners  of  the  Israelites.          Part  II.] 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Their  Mourning, 

AFTER  rejoicings,  let  us  speak  of  their  mourning 
and  signs  of  affliction.  The  ancients  did  not  only 
go  into  mourning  upon  the  death  of  relations,  but  as 
often  as  any  misfortune  happened  to  them :  and  it  did 
not  consist  merely  in  changing  dress.  The  causes 
of  it  were  either  public  calamities,  as  a  mortality,  a 
general  scarcity,  an  invasion;  or  private  misfortunes, 
as  the  death  of  a  relation  or  friend,  on  account  of  his 
being  dangerously  ill,  or  taken  captive,  or  when  one 
was  accused  of  a  crime. 

The  signs  of  mourning  among  the  Israelites  were, 
tearing  their  clothes  as  soon  as  they  heard  of  any 
ill  news,  or  if  they  happened  to  be  present  at  com- 
mitting any  great  wickedness,  as  blasphemy,  or  any 
other  sin  against  God  ;*  to  beat  their  breast ;  to  put 
their  hands  upon  their  head  ;f  uncover  it,  and  throw 
dust  or  ashes  upon  it,  instead  of  perfumes,  which 
they  used  in  the  times  of  joy ;  to  shave  the  beard 
and  hair  off.  On  the  contrary,  the  Romans,  who 
used  to  shave,  let  their  hair  grow  in  the  time  of 
mourning. 

As  long  as  the  mourning  lasted,  they  were  neither 
to  anoint  nor  wash  themselves,  but  wear  their  clothes 
dirty  and  torn,  or  else  put  on  sackcloth,  which  was  a 
straight  garment  without  folds,  and  consequently  was 
very  uneasy:  they  called  it  also  haircloth,  because 
the  stun0  was  made  of  coarse  camelot,  or  something 
else  that  was  coarse  or  rough.  They  bared  the  feet 
as  well  as  head,  but  had  their  face  covered.:}:  Some- 
times they  wrapped  themselves  up  in  a  mantle,  that 
they  might  not  see  light,  and  to  hide  their  tears. 
They  fasted  at  the  same  time  that  they  mourned,  that 
is,  as  long  as  they  were  in  mourning.  They  either 
ate  nothing  at  all,  or  not  till  after  sunset,  and  then  only 

*  1  Kings  xxi,  27.     f  Jerem.  ii,  37.    !  Ezelf.  xxiv,  17 


Ch.  XIV.]  Their  Mourning.  115 

plain  food,  as  bread,  or  herbs,  and  drank  nothing  but 
water. 

They  continued  shut  up,  sitting  upon  the  ground, 
or  lying  in  the  ashes,  keeping  a  profound  silence,* 
and  not  speaking  but  to  bemoan  themselves,  or  sing 
some  doleful  song.  Mourning  for  a  dead  person  com- 
monly lasted  seven  days  ;f  sometimes  they  continued 
it  a  month,  as  for  Aaron  and  Moses  ;|  and  sometimes 
seventy  days,  as  they  did  for  the  patriarch  Jacob.  § 
But  some  widows  mourned  their  whole  lives,  as  Ju- 
dith, and  Anna  the  prophetess. 

Thus  their  mourning  was  not,  like  ours,  a  mere 
ceremony,  in  which  the  rich  only  observe  some  set 
forms.  It  was  attended  with  all  the  natural  conse- 
quences of  real  grief;  fora  person  in  affliction  takes  no 
care  of  his  dress,  or  of  keeping  himself  clean;  he  can 
hardly  resolve  to  eat;  he  speaks  not,  or,  if  he  does, 
it  is  only  to  bewail  himself;  he  goes  not  abroad,  and 
avoids  all  diversions.  The  Israelites  were  not  the  only 
people  that  mourned  after  this  manner ;  the  Greeks 
and  Romans  did  so  long  after ;  since  St.  Chrysos- 
tom  describes  it  to  be  pretty  much  the  same  in  his 
time. ||  I  do  not  doubt  but  some  acted  a  part;  and 
did  all  that  I  mentioned,  without  being  in  any  great, 
concern;  those  however  that  were  in  earnest  were 
at  liberty  if  they  pleased,  to  indulge  themselves  in  it. 

But  in  general  both  the  Israelites  and  all  the 
ancients  followed  nature  more  than  we,  and  were 
under  less  constraint  in  venting  their  passions.  They 
sang  and  danced  when  they  were  pleased;  and 
wept  and  cried  aloud  when  they  were  grieved. 
When  they  were  afraid,  they  owned  it  frankly ;  and 
in  their  anger  they  abused  one  another  heartily, 
Homer  and  the  tragic  poets  furnish  us  with  examples 

*  Lament,  ii,  10.  1  1  Sam.  xxxi,  13.  }  Numb,  xx,  29.  Deut 
txxiv,  8. 

§  Gen.  1,  3.  But  this  seems  to  have  been  an  Egyptian  custom 
rather  than  one  peculiar  to  the  Hebrews  :  for  it  is  expressly  said  that 
it  was  the  Egyptians  who  mourned  for  him  (Jacob)  threescore  and  ter. 
days. 

11  Chrysost.  art  Demetr.  de  compunet.  t.  6. 


116  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         Part  II.] 

in  every  page.  See  what  affliction  Achilles  is  in  for 
the  death  of  Patroclus,  and  in  Sophocles  the  bitter 
lamentations  of  Oedipus  and  Philoctetes.  Philosophy 
and  Christianity  have  now  corrected  the  outward 
behaviour  in  those  that  are  well  bred  and  have  a 
good  education.  They  are  taught  to  speak  like  he- 
roes or  saints,  though  most  are  not  at  all  better  at 
the  bottom,  and  are  contented  to  disguise  their  pas- 
sions, without  conquering,  or  even  striving  against 
them. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Their  Funerals* 

THEIR  funerals  will  fall  in  pretty  well  here  with 
their  mourning.  The  ancients  in  general  took  great 
care  about  them,  and  looked  upon  it  as  a  terrible  mis- 
fortune that  their  bodies,  or  those  of  their  friends, 
should  lie  exposed  to  be  torn  by  wild  beasts  and 
birds,  or  to  putrify  above  ground,  and  infect  the 
living.  It  was  a  consolation  to  rest  in  the  sepulchre 
of  their  fathers.  Instead  of  burning  the  bodies,  as 
the  Greeks  did  to  preserve  the  ashes,  the  Hebrews 
buried  the  common  sort  of  people,  and  embalmed 
persons  of  distinction  to  lay  them  in  sepulchres. 
They  also  sometimes  burnt  perfumes  over  the  corpse. 
At  the  funeral  of  Asa,  king  of  Judah,  it  is  said,  "  they 
laid  him  on  a  bed  which  was  filled  with  sweet  odours, 
and  divers  kinds  of  spices  prepared  by  the  apotheca- 
ries' art ;  and  they  made  a  very  great  burning  for 
him  ;"f  and  that  this  was  customary  appears  from 
other  passages.  They  embalmed  almost  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  Egyptians,  wrapping  the  corpse  in  a 
great  quantity  of  drying  spices ;  after  this  they  laid  it 
in  the  sepulchre,  which  was  a  little  cavity  or  closet, 

*  For  ample  information  on  the  subject  of  this  chapter,  see  Joan. 
•YtcoJai  de  Sepulchris  Hebrceorum,  4to.  Lug.  Bat.  1706. 

f2  Chron.  xri,  14,  compared  with  2  Chron.  xsi,  19,  and  Jerem. 
xxxiv,  3. 


Ch.  XVI.]  Their  Religion.  117 

cut  in  the  rock  so  artfully  that  some  had  doors  to 
shut,  which  turned  upon  hinges,  and  a  table  to  lay 
the  body  upon,  all  cut  out  of  the  same  stone.  There 
are  still  many  of  them  to  be  seen. 

They  that  attended  the  funeral  were  in  mourning, 
and  wept  aloud,  as  they  did  at  the  burial  of  Abner.* 

There  were  women  that  made  a  trade  of  crying 
upon  these  occasions,  and  joined  the  mournful  sound 
of  flutes  with  their  voices. f  In  fine,  they  composed 
songs  instead  of  funeral  orations  for  illustrious  per- 
sons that  came  to  an  unfortunate  end.  Such  were 
those  that  David  made  upon  the  death  of  Saul,t  and 
Jeremiah  the  prophet  upon  that  of  Josiah  § 

Though  burying  the  dead  was  a  duty  of  piety,  yet 
there  was  no  religious  ceremony  used  at  it :  on  the 
aontrary  it  was  a  profane  action,  and  rendered  all 
those  unclean  that  were  concerned  in  it,  till  they 
were  purified ;  because  all  dead  bodies  are  either 
actually  corrupted,  or  in  a  state  that  tends  to  it. 
Thus  priests  were  so  far  from  being  necessary  at 
burials,  that  they  were  absolutely  forbidden  to  assist 
at  any,  except  of  their  very  near  relations.  ||  When 
Josiah  designed  to  root  out  idolatry,  he  caused  the 
bones  of  the  false  prophets  to  be  burnt  upon  the 
altars  of  the  idols,**  to  inspire  his  people  with  a 
greater  abhorrence  of  them. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Their  Religion. 

WHAT  has  been  said  relates  to  the  private  life  oi 
the  Israelites.  We  come  now  to  their  religious  and 
political  government.  I  shall  not  at  present  be  very 

*  2  Sam.  iii,  31. 

t  Jerem.  ix,  17.  Matth.  ix,  23.  This  ceremony  is  still  kept  up 
nmong  the  native  Irish  ;  in  what  is  termed  their  Caoinian  or  funeral 
cry,  between  whose  customs  and  those  of  the  ancient  Hebrews  there 
is  a  striking  similarity. 

i2Sam.  i,  17.  § 2 Chron.  xxxv.  25.  ||  Lev.xxi,  1,2,  3.  **2Cbron. 
xxxiv,  5. 


118  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II. 

prolix  in  explaining  their  creed  :  we  ought  to  be  ac- 
quainted with  it,  for  it  is  contained  in  our  own.  I 
shall  only  observe,  that  some  truths  were  revealed  to 
them  clearly,  whilst  others  were  still  obscure,  though 
they  were  already  revealed.* 

What  they  knew  distinctly  was  this  :  that  there  is 
but  one  God  :f  that  he  governs  all  things  by  his 
providence,^  that  there  is  no  trust  to  be  put  in  any 
but  him,  nor  good  to  be  expected  from  any  one 
else  :§  that  he  sees  every  thing,  even  the  secrets  of 
the  heart  :jj  that  he  influences  the  will  by  his  in- 
ward operation,  and  turns  it  as  he  pleases  :**  that  all 
men  are  born  in  sin,  and  naturally  inclined  to  evil  :ff 
that,  however,  they  may  do  good,  yet  only  by  God's 
assistance  :^|  that  they  are  free,  and  have  the  choice 
of  doing  good  or  evil  :§§  that  God  is  strictly  just, 
and  punishes  or  rewards  men  according  to  their 
works: i| |j  that  he  is  full  of  mercy  and  compassion 
for  those  that  sincerely  repent  of  their  sins  :***  that 
he  judges  the  actions  of  all  men  after  their  death  jfff 
whence  it  follows  that  the  soul  is  immortal,  and  that 
there  is  another  life. 

They  knew  besides,  that  God,  out  of  his  mere  lo- 
vingkindness,  had  chosen  them  from  among  all  man- 
kind to  be  his  faithful  people  : |||  that  from  them, 
of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  and  the  family  of  David,  would 
be  born  a  Saviour,§§§  that  should  deliver  them  from 
all  their  hardships,  and  bring  all  nations  to  the  know- 
ledge of  tbe  true  God.  All  this  they  knew  very 
clearly,  and  it  was  the  most  usual  subject  of  their 
prayers  and  meditations.  This  was  that  exalted  wis- 
dom which  distinguished  them  from  all  the  people 

*  Jos.  cont.  App.  1.  ii,  c.  8.  f  Deut.  iv,  39,  vi,  4.  J  Psalm  civ, 
cxxv.  §  Psalm  Ixii.  Isaiah  xxxvi,  xxxvii.  Jer.  xvii,  5 — 8.  ||  Psalm 
exxxix.  *+  Prov.  xxi,  1.  ft  Psalm  li,  5.  Gen.  vi,  5.  tt Deut-  xxx»  6- 
Ezek.  xxxvi,  25,  27.  §§  Deut.  xxx,  19,  20.  |||j  Psalm  xxxvii,  1,  6, 
xc,  1,  &c. 

***  Deut.  xxxii,  1,  2.     Exod.  xxxiv,  7.     Num.  xiv,  18. 

ftt  Eccles.  viii,  11,  xi,  9,  xii,  14.  Wisd.  ii,  23.— How  far  this  was 
their  general  belief,  I  must  leave  to  be  settled  between  Dr.  VVarbur- 
ton  and  his  opponents. 

Jtt  Deut.  vii,  6,  ix,  5,  6.    §§§  Gen.  xlix,  10.   Isaiah  xi,  1, 10. 


Ch.  XVI.]  Their  Religion.  119 

of  the  earth.  For  whereas,  in  other  nations,  none 
but  the  wise  men  knew  some  of  these  great  truths, 
and  that  but  imperfectly,  and  had  different  opinions 
about  them  ;*  all  the  Israelites  were  instructed  in 
this  doctrine,  and  did  not  vary  the  least  in  their  no- 
tions about  it.f 

The  truths  they  were  taught  more  obscurely  were, 
that  in  God  there  are  three  persons,  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost ;}  that  the  Saviour  they  expected 
should  be  God,  and  the  Son  of  God  ;§  that  he  should 
be  both  God  and  man  at  the  same  time  ;||  that  God 
Would  not  give  men  his  grace,  and  the  assistance 
necessary  to  perform  his  law,  but  through  this  Sa- 
viour, and  upon  account  of  his  merits  ;**  that  he 
should  suffer  death  to  expiate  the  sins  of  mankind  ;ff 
that  his  kingdom  should  be  altogether  spiritual ;  that 
all  men  shall  rise  again  :||  that  in  another  life  there 
shall  be  a  just  reward  for  the  good,§§  and  punish- 
ment for  the  wicked.  All  this  is  taught  in  the  Scrip- 
tures of  the  Old  Testament ;  but  not  so  clearly  that 
all  the  people  knew  it ;  neither  were  men  capable  at 
that  time  of  bearing  such  sublime  truths. 

But  my  design  is  only  to  explain  in  what  the  out- 
ward practice  of  their  religion  differed  from  our  cus- 
toms. They  had  only  one  temple  and  one  altar  on 
which  it  was  lawful  to  offer  sacrifice  to  God  :  this 
was  a  symbol  of  God's  unity  :  and  this  building  was 
the  most  magnificent  in  the  whole  world,  to  repre- 
sent also  his  sovereign  majesty.  It  was  not  one  only 
building,  like  most  of  our  churches,  but  a  great  en- 
closure, comprehending  courts  surrounded  with  gal- 
leries, and  several  offices  for  the  different  courses  of 
priests  and  Levites,  besides  the  body  of  the  temple. 
The  temples  of  other  nations,  as  the  Egyptians  and 
Chaldeans,  had  also  large  edifices  adjoining  to  them, 
and  stood  upon  a  great  deal  of  ground  :  but  they 
always  planted  trees  about  them  :  whereas  the  Israel- 

*  Orig.  cent.  Cels.  f  Joseph.  1.  ii,  c.  App.  6.  |  Gen.  i,  26.  Psalm 
xxxiii,  6.  Isaiah  xlviii,  16.  §Prov.xxx,4.  ||  Isai.  vii,  14.  **  Psalm 
xlv,  6,  7.  Gen.  xxii,  18.  ft  Isaiah  liii,  5,  6, 11.  Dan.  is,  26.  t{  Job 
six,  25— -27.  §§  Psalm  xvii,  15. 


120  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II. 

ites  would  not  suffer  any  to  grow  near  theirs,  that 
they  might  keep  entirely  free  from  the  superstition  of 
groves,  which  the  Pagans  held  sacred. 

The  body  of  the  temple  was  sixty*  cubits  long, 
and  twenty  broad,  and  thirty  high,  without  reckon- 
ing the  holy  of  holies,  which  joined  to  it  on  the  same 
floor,  and  was  twenty  cubits  in  length,  and  twenty  in 
breadth,  and  twenty  in  height. f  At  the  entrance 
there  was  a  porch  that  supported  a  great  tower  a 
hundred  and  twenty  cubits  high,  and  twenty  broad 4 
I  leave  the  learned  to  judge  of  the  proportions.  But 
I  must  desire  those  that  think  the  temple  small  to 
consider,  that  the  people  were  never  to  go  into  it ; 
only  the  priests,  and  such  as  waited  on  them,  and 
that  at  stated  times,  morning  and  evening,  to  light 
the  lamps,  and  offer  bread  and  perfumes.  The  high 
priest  was  the  only  person  that  entered  into  the  sanc- 
tuary where  the  ark  of  the  covenant  stood,  nor  did 
he  go  in  oftener  than  once  a  year. 

The  whole  temple  and  sanctuary  too  were  wain- 
scoted with  cedar,  adorned  with  carvings,  and  all 
covered  with  plates  of  gold.  On  the  outside  it  was 
surrounded  with  two  cedar  floors,  which  made  three 
stories  of  chambers  for  different  uses.§  Before  the 
temple,  in  a  great  court,  was  the  altar  for  holocausts, 
or  whole  burnt  offerings,  that  is  to  say,  a  platform 
thirty  cubits  square  and  fifteen  high.  The  priests 
went  up  to  it  by  an  easy  ascent  without  steps,  to 
place  the  wood  and  victims  in  order.  In  the  same 

*  We  find  two  different  cubits  in  the  Scripture ;  one  of  them  equal 
(as  Dr.  Arbuthnot  says)  to  an  English  foot,  nine  inches  and  y8^5 
of  an  inch  ;  being  a  fourth  part  of  the  fathom,  double  the  span,  and 
six  times  the  palm.  The  other  equal  to  one  foot  and  -£££$  of  a 
foot,  or  the  400th  part  of  a  stadiwn.  The  Romans  too  had  a  cubit 
equal  to  one  English  foot,  five  inches,  and  -^^  of  an  inch.  Father 
Mersenne  makes  the  Hebrew  cubit  one  foot  four  digits  and  five  lines, 
with  regard  tp  the  foot  of  the  capital.  According  to  Hero,  the  geo- 
metrical cubit  is  24  digits  :  and  according  to  Vitruvius,  the  foot  is  | 
of  the  Roman  cubit,  i.  e.  sixteen  digits  or  finger's  breadths. — The 
Scripture  says  here,  the  cubits  were  after  the  first  measure.  Vid.  2 
Chron.  iii,  3.  E.  F. 

f  1  Kings  vi,  2, 3, 20.  Jos.  Ant.  1.  xv,  c.  tilt.  &  de  bell.  Jud.  I.  vi,  C,  6- 
1 2  Chron.  iii,  4.  lKingsvi,3.  §Coenacula. 


Ch.  XVI.]          Chambers  of  the  Temple.  121 

court  were  ten  great  brazen  basins  set  upon  rolling 
bottoms  ;  and  that  which  was  supported  by  twelve 
oxen  the  Scripture  calls  the  brazen  sea. 

This  court  belonged  to  the  priests,  especially  that 
part  betwixt  the  altar  and  the  porch,  for  the  laity 
might  advance  as  far  as  the  altar  to  present  their  vic- 
tims and  slay  them  when  they  offered  sacrifices. 
The  Levites  stood  upon  the  stairs  of  the  porch  which 
faced  the  temple  to  sing  and  play  upon  musical  in- 
struments.* The  court  of  the  priests  was  enclosed 
with  galleries,  and  surrounded  with  a  first  court  much 
larger,  which  was  the  usual  place  for  the  people, 
where  the  women  were  separated  from  the  men,  and 
the  Gentiles  might  not  come  any  farther  than  to  stand 
under  the  aralleries  which  made  the  enclosure  of  the 


120  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II. 

ites  would  not  suffer  any  to  grow  near  theirs,  that 
they  might  keep  entirely  free  from  the  superstition  of 
groves,  which  the  Pagans  held  sacred. 

The  body  of  the  temple  was  sixty*  cubits  long, 
and  twenty  broad,  and  thirty  high,  without  reckon- 
ing the  holy  of  holies,  which  joined  to  it  on  the  same 
floor,  and  was  twenty  cubits  in  length,  and  twenty  in 
breadth,  and  twenty  in  height. f  At  the  entrance 
there  was  a  porch  that  supported  a  great  tower  a 
hundred  and  twenty  cubits  high,  and  twenty  broad.! 
I  leave  the  learned  to  judge  of  the  proportions.  But 
I  must  desire  those  that  think  the  temple  small  to 
consider,  that  the  people  were  never  to  go  into  it ; 


Ch.  XVI.]          Chambers  of  the  Temple.  121 

court  were  ten  great  brazen  basins  set  upon  rolling 
bottoms  ;  and  that  which  was  supported  by  twelve 
oxen  the  Scripture  calls  the  brazen  sea. 

This  court  belonged  to  the  priests,  especially  that 
part  betwixt  the  altar  and  the  porch,  for  the  laity 
might  advance  as  far  as  the  altar  to  present  their  vic- 
tims and  slay  them  when  they  offered  sacrifices. 
The  Levites  stood  upon  the  stairs  of  the  porch  which 
faced  the  temple  to  sing  and  play  upon  musical  in- 
struments.* The  court  of  the  priests  was  enclosed 
with  galleries,  and  surrounded  with  a  first  court  much 
larger,  which  was  the  usual  place  for  the  people, 
where  the  women  were  separated  from  the  men,  and 
the  Gentiles  might  not  come  any  farther  than  to  stand 
under  the  galleries  which  made  the  enclosure  of  the 
first  court.  There  were  several  parlours,  chambers, 
and  storehouses,  for  different  uses,  adjoining  to  these 
galleries  of  each  enclosure. f 

They  had  treasuries  for  the  sacred  vessels  of  gold 
and  silver,  which  were  so  numerous  that  even  at 
their  return  from  the  captivity  they  brought  home 
five  thousand  four  hundred  ;|  vestries  likewise  for 
the  sacerdotal  habits,§  arid  storehouses,  where  they 
laid  up  the  offerings  set  apart  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  priests  and  Levites,  widows  and  orphans  ;  and 
what  was  committed  to  their  charge  by  private  peo- 
ple. ||  For  it  was  customary  with  the  ancients  to  de- 
posite  what  was  given  for  the  public  in  temples.**  In 
other  places  they  kept  wine  and  oil  for  the  libations, 
salt  to  season  all  the  sacrifices,  and  the  lambs  that 
had  been  picked  out  to  be  offered  at  the  evening 
and  morning  sacrifice,  which  was  never  omitted.  In 
other  places  they  made  show-bread,  and  what  other 
pastry  was  necessary  for  the  sacrifices.  They  had 
kitchens  for  the  flesh  of  the  victims,  eating  rooms 
for  the  priests  and  guard  of  the  Levites,  that  kept  the 
iloors  and  watched  the  temple  day  and  night ;  be- 

*  Ezek.  xl,  xli,  xlii.   f  Gazophylacia,  Pastophoria,  Thalami,  Exedrse, 
vid.  Jer.  xxxv,  4.    J 1  Esd.  ii,  14.     §  Ezek.  xliv,  19.     j|  2  Chron.  xxxi, 
11.2  Mace.  Hi,  10.     **  Talmud.  Cod.  Middoth. 
11 


1 22  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  II , 

sides  lodgings  for  those  of  them  that  were  musi- 
cians ;*  one,  where  the  Nazarites  were  shaved  after 
their  vow  ;  another,  to  examine  lepers  in  a  hall  where 
the  chief  council  of  seventy  elders  was  held,  and  other 
rooms  of  the  same  nature,  with  which  we  are  not 
so  particularly  acquainted.  So  many  fine  regular 
buildings  gave,  no  doubt,  a  high  idea  of  the  great 
King  that  was  served  in  that  sacred  place. 

They  offered  four  lambs  every  day  for  a  holocaust, 
two  in  the  morning  and  two  in  the  evening  :  and  this 
is  what  was  called  the  continual  sacrifice.^  On  sab- 
bath and  festival  days  the  sacrifices  were  multiplied 
iii^proportion  to  the  solemnity,  without  reckoning  the 
offerings  of  private  people,  which  were  daily  very 
numerous. 

We  are  offended  at  the  bloody  sacrifices  which 
made  the  temple  a  shambles  :  but  it  was  the  same 
among  other  nations  ;  and  the  Israelites  had  taken 
sufficient  precautions  for  performing  these  sacrifices 
with  all  the  cleanliness  and  decency  imaginable. — 
The  situation  of  the  temple  contributed  to  it :  for 
as  it  was  upon  a  mountain,  they  had  made  drains  un- 
derneath to  carry  off  the  blood  and  nastiness.  The 
peculiar  part  of  the  priests'  office  was  only  to  pour 
out  the  blood,  light  the  fire,  and  lay  the  pieces  upon 
it  that  were  to  be  offered.^  There  were  others  to 
kill  the  victims,  prepare  them,  cut  them  in  pieces, 
and  dress  them  ;  we  see  it  in  the  law,  and  the  story 
of  the  sons  of  Eli.§  The  priests  never  did  these 
things  but  at  the  public  sacrifices  that  were  offered 
for  all  the  people. 

After  this,  we  are  not  to  think  the  comparison  of 
a  pot  strange,  which  we  read  of  in  Jeremiah  and 
Ezekiel,  to  represent  Jerusalem.  ||  These  two  pro- 
phets were  priests,  and  used  to  see  the  sanctified 
meat  dressed.  Now  they  esteemed  every  thing  ho- 
nourable that  was  employed  in  the  service  of  God,  and 
the  performing  of  the  law  :  besides,  it  was  usual  for 

*  Ezek.  xl,  44.  t  TOH  ev3«X«x«r/«>f,  juge  sacrificium.  i  Lev.  iv,  1 0. 
§  1  Sam.  ii,  13.  ||  Jer.  i,  13.  Ezek.  xxiv,  3,  4, 


Ch.  XVI.]  Their  Sacrifices,  123 

the  very  best  of  people  to  work  with  their  own  hands, 
and  do  the  necessary  offices  of  life  themselves,  as  we 
said  before.  Thus,  in  Homer,  king  Agamemnon 
kills  the  lambs  with  his  own  hands,*  the  blood  of 
which  was  the  seal  of  the  treaty  he  had  made  with 
the  Trojans.  Thus,  when  Nestor  sacrificed  to  Mi- 
nerva, his  own  sons  kill  the  victims,  cut  the  flesh  in 
pieces,  and  broil  it.f  Homer  abounds  with  exam- 
ples of  this  sort,  not  only  when  he  is  speaking  of  re- 
ligious matters,  but  upon  other  occasions  ;  as  when 
Achilles  entertained  the  messengers  of  the  other  Gre- 
cian generals. 

As  to  the  rest,  every  thing  that  is  prescribed  by 
the  law  relating  to  the  quality  of  victims,  and  the 
manner  of  performing  the  sacrifices,  tended  rather  to 
cure  the  Israelites  of  their  superstitions  by  confining 
them  to  a  few  ceremonies,  than  to  introduce  new 
ones.:}:  Idolaters  sacrificed  in  more  places,  used 
more  ceremonies,  and  a  greater  variety  of  animals  :§ 
for  they  had  every  where  temples  and  altars,  and  each 
family  had  their  domestic  gods  and  particular  super- 
stitions. Thus  God  prepared  his  people  in  a  dis- 
tinct manner  for  the  abolishing  bloody  sacrifices,  tell- 
ing them  often  at  the  same  time  by  his  prophets,  that 
he  had  no  need  of  them,  that  they  were  not  essen- 
tial to  religion,  and  that  the  worship  most  agreeable 
to  him  was  gratitude  and  purity  of  heart.  || 

It  was  necessary  for  the  priests  to  be  married,  as 
the  priesthood  was  annexed  to  the  family  of  Aaron  : 
but  they  parted  from  their  wives  during  the  time  of 
their  officiating,  and  drank  neither  wine  nor  any 
other  liquor  that  could  intoxicate.**  The  same  ab- 
stinence may  be  observed  among  idolaters,  espe- 
cially the  Egyptians  :  and  their  priests  wore  nothing 
but  linen,  and  shoes  made  of  the  plant  papyrus,  that 
gives  name  to  paper,  that  they  might  not  have  any 
thing  about  them  that  came  from  dead  beasts,  and 

*  Iliad  iii,  v.  290.  fOdyss.  iii,  v.  448—465.  J  Tertull.  in  Marc. 
1.  ii,  cap.  18.  §  Herod.  1.  ii,  c.  40.  ||  1  Sam.  xv,  22.  Psalm  1,  8,  &*•, 
J.-» iuli  )\vi,  3.  **Lev.  x,  9. 


124  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II. 

tended  to  corruption.  The  Israelitish  priests  offi- 
ciated barefoot,  but  with  linen  garments  on.  They 
were  forbidden  to  wear  any  woollen,  and  put  off  those 
sacred  vestments  when  they  came  out  of  their  court 
to  go  into  that  of  the  people.*  The  prievsts  and  all 
the  Levites  led  a  pastoral  life,  that  was  so  dear  to  the 
patriarchs,  when  they  were  not  upon  duty,  and  had 
no  other  substance  than  their  flocks  :  for  they  were 
excluded  from  any  share  of  land,  to  wean  them  the 
more  from  temporal  cares,  and  give  them  greater  lei- 
sure to  employ  themselves  in  the  affairs  of  religion. 
Yet  they  were  wealthy,  when  the  people  paid  them 
justly  what  was  ordered  by  the  law ;  for  though  there 
were  fewer  of  that  tribe  t  than  of  any  else,  they  had 
tithe  of  all  fruits  gathered  by  the  other  twelve,  and 
consequently  their  share  was  the  largest.  They  had 
besides,  the  firstlings  of  all  animals,  without  reckon- 
ing their  own  cattle,  and  the  daily  offerings,  on 
which  the  priests  lived  when  they  served  at  the  altar. 
I  do  not  perceive  that  they  were  excluded  from 
any  civil  office  :  they  bore  arms  like  other  men,  and 
the  priests  sounded  the  trumpet  in  the  army,  and  upon 
all  other  occasions;!  for  they  made  use  of  silver 
trumpets  to  proclaim  the  feasts  and  call  the  people 
to  public  prayers ;  and  the  name  of  jubilee  is  derived 
from  a  ram's  horn,  which  was  sounded  to  give  notice 
of  its  opening.  §  The  ancient  monks  of  Egypt  ob- 

*  Ezek.  xliv,  17.  f  About  a  30th  of  the  whole.  Nearly  a  27th  part, 
Numb,  i,  32.  iii,  43.  and  J,  in  1  Sam.  xxiv,  9.  1  Chron.  xxiii,  3.  E.  F. 

t  2  Chron.  xiii,  12.      ' 

§  Numb.  x.  Joseph.  Ant.  iii,  12.  Lev.  xxv,  9.  Jubilee  in  Hebrew 
S^V  yobel,  some  say/rom  '-jy  yabal,  to  bring  or  carry  along;  there  is 
no  evidence  that  it  ever  signifies  a  rain's  liorn,  though  translated  so  in 
a  few  places  of  our  English  version,  but  none  of  the  ancient  versions 
acknowledge  this  sense  of  the  word  except  the  Chaldee.  The  word  is 
of  uncertain  etymology  ;  Josephus  says  it  signifies  liberty.  eXtvfopcav 
it  atjpcHvei  rovvopa.  Ant.  lib.  3,  c.  10,  p.  96,  edit,  colon.  1691.  What 
authority  he  had  for  this  interpretation  of  the  word  I  know  not :  but 
it  is  full  as  likely  as  the  rabbinical  definition  ram's  horn,  which  is  now 
commonly  imposed  on  it.  Calmet  derives  it  from  VsiH  hobeel,  to 
cause  to  bring  back  or  recall,  because  estates,  &c.,  which  had  been 
alienated  were  then  brwight  back  to  their  primitive  owners.  This  ap 
pears  to  be  the  true  derivation  of  the  word, 


Ch.  XVI.]  Their  Feasts.  125 

served  the  custom  of  blowing  a  trumpet  at  the  hours 
of  prayer,  for  the  use  of  bells  is  more  modern. 

The  feasts  of  the  Israelites  were  the  sabbath  ;  the 
first  day  of  each  month,  called  in  our  translation 
calends  or  new  moon;  the  three  great  feasts  of  the 
passover,  pentecost,  and  tabernacles,  instituted  in  me- 
mory of  the  three  greatest  blessings  they  received 
from  God,  the  coming  out  of  Egypt,  the  promulga- 
tion of  the  law,  and  their  settlement  in  the  promised 
land  after  their  journeying  in  the  wilderness,  where 
they  had  so  long  lodged  under  tents.*  These  great 
solemnities  lasted  seven  days,  probably  in  memory  of 
the  week  of  the  creation. 

Their  year  consisted  of  twelve  months,  each  of 
thirty  days,f  very  little  different  from  ours.  Thus 
we  find  it  regulated  from  Noah's  time,  as  appears 
by  the  date  of  the  deluge  ;  but  it  is  thought  it  began 
then  at  the  autumnal  equinox.  Moses  was  ordered 
to  begin  it  in  spring,  in  the  month  Abib,  which  was 
that  of  the  passover  ;|  and  it  is  with  respect  to  the 
first  month  that  the  others  are  reckoned,  which  are 
only  named  from  their  number.  They  agree  very 
nearly  with  our  Roman  months,  the  names  of  which 
oome  from  the  old  year  that  began  in  the  month  of 
March.  Thus,  the  eighth  month  was  October,  at  least 
part  of  it ;  the  ninth  happened  in  November,  and  so 
en.  They  computed  their  month  by  the  moon,  at 
least  in  later  times  ;  not  astronomically,  but  accord- 
ing to  its  appearance,  from  the  day  that  they,  whose 
business  it  was,  had  declared  the  new  moon,  which 
was  the  day  after  it  appeared. 

The  feasts  of  the  Israelites  were  true  feasts,  that 
is  to  say,  times  of  real  joy.  All  the  men  were  obli- 
ged to  be  at  Jerusalem  at  the  great  feasts  of  the  pass- 
over,  pentecost,  and  tabernacles,  and  the  women 
were  permitted  to  come  too.  The  concourse  was 
then  very  great ;  every  body  dressed  and  adorned 
themselves  intheir  best  clothes.  They  had  the  plea- 

*  Lev.  xxiii.     |  In  Gen.  vii,  11,  compared  with  viii,  3,  4,  we  see  on« 

fcundred  and  fifty  days  are  equal  to  five  months.    1  Expel,  xiij,  4, 

u* 


12G  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  If. 

sure  of  seeing  all  their  friends  and  relations  :  they 
assisted  at  the  prayers  and  sacrifices,  which  were 
always  accompanied  with  music  :  after  that  followed 
the  feasts,  in  which  they  ate  the  peace-offerings  in 
this  magnificent  temple.  The  law  itself  commanded 
them  to  rejoice,  and  join  sensible  mirth  to  spiritual. 

We  must  not  wonder,  therefore,  if  it  was  agreea- 
ble news  to  hear  that  a  feast  was  nigh,  and  that  they 
were  soon  to  go  to  the  house  of  the  Lord  ;  that  they 
esteemed  those  happy  that  spent  their  life  there  ;* 
that  they  went  thither  in  great  troops,  singing  and 
playing  on  instruments ;  and  that,  on  the  contrary, 
they  thought  themselves  unhappy  when  they  could  not 
be  there,  which  David  so  often  laments  in  his  exile. t 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

Their  Fasts  and  Vows. 

FASTING  days  were  quite  the  reverse  of  festivals. 
Upon  those  they  did  all  that  I  have  related  in  speak- 
ing of  mourning :  for  fasting  and  mourning  with 
them  were  the  same  thing.  It  did  not  consist  there- 
fore only  in  eating  later,  but  being  afflicted  in  all  re- 
spects. They  spent  the  whole  day  without  eating 
or  drinking  till  night. :{:  Thus  the  Jews  still  fast,  and 
the  Mohammedans,  who  herein  imitate  both  them 
and  the  primitive  Christians. §  They  observed  a 
strict  silence,  put  on  sackcloth  and  ashes,  and  ex- 
pressed every  other  sign  of  affliction.  The  public 
fasts  were  proclaimed  by  sound  of  trumpet,  as  well 
as  the  feasts  :||  all  the  people  at  Jerusalem  met  to- 
gether in  the  temple,  and  at  other  places  in  the  pub- 
lic square  :  they  read  lessons  out  of  the  law,  and  the 
most  venerable  old  men  exhorted  the  people  to  con- 
fess their  sins  and  repent  of  them.  They  never 

*  Psa.  cxxii,  1.  Ixxxiv,  1,  &c.  \  Psa.  xlii,  4.  xliii,  3, 4.    J  Isa.  Iviii,  /J. 
§  See  an  enumeration  of  the  fasts  of  the  Hindoos  and  Mohamme- 
dans, at  the  end  of  this  chapter 

||  1  Kings  x*i,  12=   Joel  ii,  15, 16,  &c. 


Oh.  XVII.]  Their  Vows.  127 

married  upon  those  days ;  such  as  were  already 
married  separated  themselves  from  their  wives. 

The  law  had  appointed  but  one  fast  day,  the  tenth 
of  the  seventh  month,  which  was  the  feast  of  atone- 
ment :*  but  from  the  time  of  the  prophet  Zachariah 
they  reckoned  three  more ;  one  in  the  fourth  month, 
one  in  the  fifth,  and  another  in  the  tenth. f  They 
had  extraordinary  fasts;  some  in  public  calamities, 
as  the  dearth  which  Joel  speaks  of :  others  upon 
particular  misfortunes,  as  David's  fast  for  the  sick- 
ness of  his  child,  that  was  the  offspring  of  his  great 
crime  :\  for  the  death  of  Abner,§  and  upon  many 
other  occasions  mentioned  in  the  Psalms.  j|  In  fine, 
they  had  fasts  which  they  imposed  upon  themselves 
out  of  pure  devotion,  or  to  perform  some  vow  ;  for 
they  were  very  strict  in  keeping  their  VQWS  and  oaths. 
As  to  vows,  the  instance  of  Jephthah  is  but  too  con- 
vincing:** and  for  oaths,  Joshua  kept  the  promise 
he  made  to  the  Gibeomtes,ff  though  it  was  obtained 
by  a  manifest  fraud,  because  he  had  sworn  to  them 
by  the  name  of  the  Lord.  Saul  had  resolved  to  put 
Jonathan  to  death  for  transgressing  the  order  he  had 
made  with  an  oath,||  though  Jonathan  offended  only 
through  ignorance ;  and  we  see  many  more  examples 
of  it.  They  entered  into  such  solemn  engagements 
very  seriously,  and  did  not  allow  themselves  any  lati- 
tude in  interpreting  them.  Swearing  by  the  name  of 
God  was  an  act  of  religion  ;§§  for  this  oath  distin- 
guished the  Israelites  from  those  that  swore  by  the 
name  of  false  gods :  this  is  to  be  understood  of  law- 
ful and  necessary  oaths,  such  as  are  taken  in  a  court 
of  judicature. 

Their  vows  consisted  usually  in  offering  some  part 
of  their  substance  to  God,  either  for  his  service  in 
sacrifices,  or  to  be  set  apart  by  itself.  Thence  came 
those  great  treasures  in  Solomon's  temple,  which 
were  made  up  of  the  offerings  of  David,  Samuel, 

*  LCT.  xvi,  29,  &c.  |  Zech.  viii,  19.  }  2  Sam.  xii,  16.  §  Ibid,  iii, 
3rl.  ||  Psalm  xxxv,  13, 14.  Ixix,  10, 11.  **  Judg.  xi,  35.  ft  Josh,  ix, 
19.  tf  1  Sam.  xiv,  27.  §§  Psalm  Ixiii,  11. 


128  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  II. 

Saul,  Abner,  and  Joab.*  It  was  chiefly  of  the  booty 
taken  from  enemies.  The  Gentiles  made  such  offer- 
ings in  the  temples  of  their  false  gods  sometimes 
upon  other  occasions :  we  need  no  other  example 
than  the  temple  of  Delphi,  and  the  rich  presents  that 
Cro3sus  sent  to  obtain  favourable  oracles. f 

The  most  considerable  vow  was  that  of  the  Naza- 
rites,  who  obliged  themselves  for  so  long  a  time  to 
drink  no  wine  nor  strong  drink,  nor  to  cut  their  hair, 
and  to  keep  themselves  carefully  from  all  legal  impu- 
rities, particularly  from  coming  near  dead  bodies.  :£ 
The  rule  of  the  Rechabites  seems  to  be  founded  upon 
such  vows.  The  author  of  it  was  Jonadab  the  son 
of  Rechab,§  who  lived  in  the  time  of  Jehu  king  of 
Israel,  and  the  prophet  Elisha.  He  forbade  his  chik 
dren  to  drink  wine,  build  houses,  to  plant,  have  lands, 
or  vineyards. {I  They  abode  therefore  under  tents, 
employing  themselves  in  all  probability  as  the  Levites 
did,  in  breeding  cattle,  and  exactly  imitating  the  pas- 
toral life  of  the  patriarchs  :  they  were  married,  and 
inviolably  observed  this  rule  in  their  family,  at  least 
one  hundred  and  eighty  years,  for  we  cannot  tell 
what  became  of  them  after  the  captivity. 

A  SUPPLEMENT  TO    CHAPTER  XVII. 

Concerning  the  Fasts  of  the  Hindoos  and  Moham- 
medans. 

As  the  Hindoos  and  Mohammedans  approach  near- 
est in  their  religious  austerities  to  the  ancient  He- 
brews, the  following  concise  view  of  the  fasts  prac- 
tised among  them,  taken  from  the  best  authorities, 
will  not  be  considered  an  unprofitable  digression  in 
this  place. 

There  are  twelve  kinds  of  fasts  among  the  Hindoos. 

1st.  The  person  neither  eats  nor  drinks  for  a  day 
and  night.  This  fast  is  indispensable,  and  occurs 
twenty-nine  times  in  the  year. 

*  1  Chron.  xxvi,  27.  |  Herodot.  I  i,  p.  91,22.  \  Numb.  T},  1—21'. 
$  2  Kings  x,  15.  ||  Jerem.  xxxv,  £. 


Oh.  XVII.]  Hindoo  and  Mohammedan  Fasts.       129 

2d.  The  person  fasts  during  the  day,  and  eats  at 
night. 

3d.  The  person  eats  nothing  but  fruits,  and  drinks 
milk  or  water. 

4th.  He  eats  once  during  the  day  and  night. 

5th.  Eats  one  particular  kind  of  food,  during  the 
day  and  night,  but  as  often  as  he  pleases. 

6th.  Called  chanderaym,  which  is  to  eat  one  mouth- 
ful only  on  the  first  day,  two  on  the  second,  and  thus 
continue  increasing-  one  mouthful  every  day  for  a 
month,  and  then  decreasing  one  mouthful  every  day 
till  he  leaves  off  where  he  began. 

7th.  The  person  neither  eats  nor  drinks  for  twelve 
days.  How  such  a  fast  can  be  supported  I  cannot 
tell.  Though  it  is  prescribed  in  their  law,  it  is  not 
likely  that  it  is  ever  observed,  at  least  rigidly. 

8th.  Lasts  twelve  days :  the  first  three  days  he 
eats  a  little  once  in  the  day ;  the  next  three  he  eats 
only  once  in  the  night ;  the  next  three  he  eats  nothing 
unless  it  be  brought  to  him ;  and  during  the  last  three 
days  he  neither  eats  nor  drinks. 

9th.  Lasts  fifteen  days  :  for  three  days  and  three 
nights  he  eats  only  one  handful  at  night  ;  the  next 
three  days  and  nights  he  eats  one  handful  if  it  be 
brought  to  him,  if  not  he  takes  nothing.  Then  he 
eats  nothing  for  three  days  and  three  nights.  The 
next  three  days  and  nights  he  takes  only  a  handful 
of  warm  water  each  day.  The  next  three  days  and 
nights  he  takes  only  a  handful  of  warm  milk  each  day. 

10th.  For  three  days  and  nights  he  neither  eats  nor 
drinks :  he  lights  a  fire  and  sits  at  a  door  where  there 
enters  a  hot  wind,  which  he  draws  in  with  his  breath. 

llth.  Lasts  fourteen  days:  three  days  and  three 
nights  he  eats  nothing  but  leaves ;  three  days  and 
three  nights  nothing  but  the  Indian  fig ;  three  days 
and  three  nights  nothing  but  the  seed  of  the  Lotus  ; 
three  days  and  three  nights  nothing  but  Peepul 
leaves ;  three  days  and  three  nights  the  expressed 
juice  of  a  particular  kind  of  grass  called  Doobah. 


130  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  II. 

12th.  Lasts  a  week:  1st  day  he  eats  milk;  3d, 
milk  curds  ;  3d,  Ghee,  i.  e.  clarified  butter ;  4th, 
cow's  urine  ;  6th,  cow's  dung ;  6th,  water ;  7th, 
nothing  :  plays  at  no  game  ;  has  no  connexion  with 
women ;  neither  shaves  nor  anoints  himself,  and 
bestows  alms  each  day.  Jlyeen  Jlkbery,  vol.  iii,  p. 
247—250. 

MOHAMMEDAN  PASTS. 

Fasting  is  considered  by  the  Mohammedans  as  an 
essential  part  of  piety.  Their  orthodox  divines  term 
it  the  gale  of  religion:  with  them  it  is  of  two  kinds, 
voluntary  and  incumbent ;  and  it  is  distinguished  by 
the  J\fosliman  doctors  into  three  degrees  :  1st.  Ab- 
stinence from  every  kind  of  nourishment  or  carnal 
indulgence.  2d.  Restraining  the  various  members 
from  every  thing  which  might  excite  sinful  or  corrupt 
desires.  3d.  The  abstracting  the  mind  wholly  from 
worldly  cares,  and  fixing  it  exclusively  upon  God. 
Their  great  annual  fast  is  kept  on  the  month  Ram- 
zan,  beginning  at  the  first  new  moon,  and  continuing 
until  the  appearance  of  the  next ;  during  which  it  is 
required  to  abstain  from  every  kind  of  nourishment, 
from  daybreak  till  after  sunset  of  each  day.  From 
this  observance  none  are  excused  but  the  sick,  the 
aged,  and  children.  But  if  the  sick  recover  they  are 
required  to  make  up  for  what  they  have  lost,  by 
fasting  an  equal  number  of  days  after  their  health  is 
perfectly  restored.  This  is  properly  the  Mohamme- 
dan Lent.  Any  breach  of  the  duty  of  fasting,  espe- 
cially in  the  month  Ramzan,  must  be  expiated  by  a 
donation  of  alms  to  the  poor. 

The  Nifl  or  voluntary  fasts  are  those  not  enjoined 
by  the  law,  but  which  a  man  imposes  on  himself  for 
some  particular  reason.  They  are  often  sufficiently 
severe.  All  fasting  is  considered  in  the  light  of 
making  atonement  for  sin.  The  common  sense  of 
all  nations  agreeing  in  this,  that  sin  requires  an  expi- 


Ch.  XVIII.]  Their  Prophets.  131 

ation  :    but  the  Christian  religion  alone  shows  the 
true  one.     See  Hedayah.  Prel.  Dis.  p.  Iv. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Their  Prophets. 

ANOTHER  sort  of  religious  people,  and  much  more 
considerable  (than  the  Rechabites)were  the  prophets. 
There  was  a  great  number  of  them  from  Samuel's 
time:  witness  that  company  which  Saul  met,  who 
prophesied  at  the  sound  of  instruments,  transported 
by  the  Spirit  of  God  ;*  and  that  other  company  which 
prophesied  before  Samuel,  and  seem  to  have  been  his 
disciples. f  But  it  does  not  appear  that  there  ever 
were  so  many,  as  from  the  days  of  Elijah  and  Elisha  to 
the  Babylonish  captivity.  They  lived  separate  from  the 
world,  distinguished  by  their  habit  and  way  of  living  ; 
they  dwelt  upon  mountains,  as  Elijah  and  Elisha 
did  upon  Carmel  and  Gilgal.  The  rich  woman,  who 
lodged  Elisha  when  he  went  by  Shunem,  had  a  cham- 
ber, as  I  said,  built  and  furnished  for  him,  \  where  he 
lived  so  retired  that  he  did  not  speak  so  much  as  to 
the  person  who  entertained  him,  but  made  his  servant. 
Gehazi  speak  to  her  for  him  :  and  when  she  came  to 
entreat  him  to  raise  her  son  to  life  again,  Gehazi 
would  not  let  her  touch  the  prophet's  feet.§  When 
Naaman,  general  of  the  Syrian  armies,  came  to  him 
to  be  cured  of  his  leprosy,  he  sent  him  word  what  to 
do,  without  being  seen  by  him.|| 

Two  other  of  this  prophet's  miracles  show  that  his 
disciples  lived  in  societies  ;  that  of  the  herb  pottage 
which  he  made  wholesome,  and  shat  of  the  barley 
bread  which  he  multiplied  ;**  which  shows  also  the 
plainness  of  their  food.  There  were  a  hundred  pro- 
phets that  lived  together  in  this  society,  and  they 
wrought  with  their  hands  ;  for,  finding  their  lodgings 
too  strait,  they  went  themselves  to  cut  down  wood  to 

*  1  Sam.  x,  5.  f  Ibid,  xix,  20.  J  2  Kings  iv,  10.  §  Ibid.  ver.  27. 
:|  2  Kings  v,  10.  +*  2  Kings  iv,  38,  41,  43, 44. 


132  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II. 

build  with,  and  were  so  poor,  that  one  of  them  was 
obliged  to  borrow  a  hatchet.* 

Their  dress  was  sackcloth  or  haircloth,  that  is 
mourning,  to  show  they  were  always  in  affliction  for 
the  sins  of  the  people.  Thus  to  describe  Elijah, 
they  said  he  was  a  man  clothed  in  a  hairy  garment, 
and  girt  with  a  girdle  of  leather  about  his  loins. t 
Thus,  when  God  bids  Isaiah  undress  himself,  he 
orders  him  to  loose  his  sackcloth  from  off  his  loins,  j 
It  appears  that  the  two  great  prophets  mentioned  in 
the  Revelation  were  both  clothed  in  sackcloth. § 

The  prophets,  at  least  some  of  them,  were  never- 
theless married  men  ;  and  that  widow  whose  oil 
Elisha  multiplied,  was  a  prophet's  widow.  ||  It  seems 
also  as  if  their  children  followed  the  same  profession, 
for  the  prophets  are  often  called  sons  of  the  prophets ; 
which  made  Amos  say,  '  I  was  no  prophet,  nor  pro- 
phet's son,  but  only  a  herdsman  ;'**  to  show  that  he 
did  not  prophesy  by  profession,  but  by  an  extraordi- 
nary call.  For  though  God  most  frequently  made 
use  of  such  as  led  a  prophetic  life,  to  declare  his 
will,  yet  he  was  under  no  obligation  not  to  make 
revelations  to  any  one  else. 

Yet  commonly  none  were  reckoned  prophets  but 
such  as  led  that  sort  of  life  ;  whence  it  comes  that  the 
writings  of  David,  Solomon,  and  Daniel,  are  not  put 
by  the  Jews  among  the  prophetic  books, ft  because 
the  two  first  were  kings,  living  delicately  and  magni- 
ficently ;  and  the  other  a  Persian  governor,  who  also 
lived  at  court,  and  in  the  hurry  of  the  world  :  but  this 
distinction  is  not  attended  to  by  our  Lord,  who 
expressly  calls  Daniel  a  prophet.  Matt,  xxiv,  15. 

These  holy  men,  after  the  patriarchs,  preserved 
the  purest  tradition  of  the  true  religion :  their  employ- 
ment was  meditating  upon  the  law  of  God,  praying  to 
him  often  day  and  night,  both  for  themselves  and 
others,  and  inuring  themselves  to  the  practice  of 
every  virtue.  They  instructed  their  disciples,  ex- 

*  2  Kings  vi,  5.  f  2  Kings  i,  8.  t  Isaiah  xx,  2.  §  Rev.  xi,  3. 
II  2  Kings  iv,  1.  **  Amos  vii,  14.  -H  Ecclus.  xlix,  10. 


€h.  XVIII.]  Their  Prophets.  133 

plained  to  them  the  spirit  and  meaning  of  the  law, 
and  opened  to  them  the  sublime  mysteries  relating  to 
the  state  of  the  church,  either  upon  earth  or  in  hea- 
ven, after  the  Messiah  should  come,  that  were  hidden 
under  allegories  of  things  sensible  and  seemingly 
mean.  They  instructed  the  people  too  who  came  to 
hear  them  upon  sabbath  and  other  feast  days.  They 
reproved  them  for  their  vices,  and  exhorted  them  to 
repent,  often  foretelling,  from  God,  what  was  to  hap- 
pen to  them.*  This  liberty  which  they  took  of  speak- 
ing the  most  disagreeable  truths,  even  to  kings,  made 
them  hated,  and  cost  many  of  them  their  lives. 

However,  there  were  many  impostors,  who  coun- 
terfeited the  outward  demeanour  of  true  prophets; 
wore  sackcloth  as  they  did ;  spake  the  same  language, 
pretending  they  were  also  inspired  by  God  :f  but 
they  took  care  not  to  foretell  any  thing  that  would  be 
disagreeable  either  to  the  prince  or  the  people.  The 
false  gods  also  had  their  prophets,  as  the  eight  hun- 
dred and  fifty  whom  Elijah  caused  to  be  slain.  J  Of 
the  same  sort  were  the  soothsayers  among  the 
Greeks,  who  were  called  mantels  fjuwsis,  as  Calchas 
and  Tiresias  in  the  times  of  the  heroes  :  such  like- 
wise were  they  that  gave  out  oracles,  or  made  money 
of  them,  and  the  poets,  who  said  they  also  were 
inspired  by  the  gods.  For  they  did  not  mean  to  have 
it  thought  that  they  said  so  only  in  a  poetical  manner, 
but  to  make  it  believed  that  they  really  were  :  and 
in  fact  these  false  prophets,  either  by  the  operation 
of  the  devil,  or  some  artifice,  became  transported., 
and  spake  in  an  unusual  style,  to  imitate  the  visible 
effects  which  the  Spirit  of  God  caused  in  the  true 
prophets.  Now  those  Israelites  that  were  not  tho- 
roughly confirmed  in  their  religion,  lay  under  great 
temptations  to  consult  these  diviners  and  false  oracles,, 
and  it  was  a  part  of  idolatry  which  they  were  very 
subject  to  fall  into,  during  the  whole  period  of  which 
we  speak. 

*  1  Kings  xxi,  20.    f  Zech.  xiii,  4.     J  1  Kings  xviii,  19  and  40. 
12 


J34  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II. 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

Their  Idolatry.* 

THIS  propensity  to  idolatry  appears  to  us  very 
strange  and  absurd  in  the  manners  of  the  Israelites  ; 
and  hence  many  have  imagined  they  were  a  brutish 
and  unpolished  people.  We  see  no  idolaters  now  ; 
we  only  hear  it  said  that  there  are  some  in  the  Indies, 
and  in  other  remote  countries. 

But  all  people  that  live  about  us,  Christians,  Jews, 
and  Mohammedans,  preach  one  only  God  almighty. 
The  most  ignorant  country  people  know  this  truth 
distinctly  ;  we  conclude,  therefore,  that  such  as 
believed  in  more  gods  than  one,  and  adored  pieces 
of  wood  and  stone,  ought  to  be  accounted  the  most 
ignorant  of  mankind,  and  perfect  barbarians.  How- 
ever, we  cannot  call  the  Romans,  Greeks,  Egyptians, 
Syrians,  and  other  people  of  antiquity,  ignorant  and 
barbarians,  from  whom  all  arts,  human  learning,  and 
politeness  have  been  handed  down  to  us  :  neither 
can  we  deny  that  idolatry  reigned  among  them  in 
the  most  absolute  manner,  at  the  very  time  when  in 
every  thing  else  they  were  perfectly  ingenious  and 
polite.  Let  us  stop  here  then  a  little,  and  search 
into  the  source  of  this  evil. 

The  mind  of  man  is  so  overcast  since  the  fall,  that 
whilst  he  continues  in  the  state  of  corrupted  nature, 
he  has  no  notion  of  spiritual  things  ;  he  thinks  of 
nothing  but  matter  and  corporeal  subjects,  and  makes 
light  of  whatsoever  does  not  fall  within  the  compass 
of  his  senses  ;  nor  does  any  thing  appear  even  sub- 
stantial to  him,  but  what  strikes  the  grossest  of  them, 
the  taste  and  touch  :  we  see  it  too  plainly  in  children, 
and  men  that  are  guided  by  their  passions ;  they 
make  no  account  of  any  thing  but  what  they  can  see 
and  feel :  every  thing  else  they  look  upon  as  castles 

*  On  the  origin  and  progress  of  idolatry,  see  Maimmides  de  idotatria, 
cum  interpretatwne  et  notis  Dionysii  Vossil,  4to.  Amst.  16-12,  which 
contains  a  great  variety  of  curious  matter. 


Ch.  XIX.]  Their  Idolatry.  135 

in  the  air.  Yet  these  men  are  brought  up  in  the  true 
religion,  in  the  knowledge  of  God,  in  a  belief  of  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  and  a  future  state.  What 
sentiments  had  the  ancient  Gentiles,  who  never  heard 
these  things  mentioned,  and  had  only  objects  of  sense 
and  matter  laid  before  them  by  their  wisest  men  ?  We 
may  read  Homer,  the  great  divine  and  prophet  of  the 
Greeks,  as  long  as  we  please  ;  we  shall  not  find  there 
the  least  hint  that  can  induce  us  to  imagine  he  had 
any  notion  of  things  spiritual  and  incorporeal. 

Thus  all  their  wisdom  was  employed  in  what 
relates  to  the  body  and  senses v  The  design  of  their 
bodily  exercises,  and  all  that  gymnastic  regimen 
which  they  made  so  much  noise  about,  was  to  pre- 
serve and  increase  their  health,  strength,  dexterity, 
and  beauty ;  and  they  carried  that  art  to  the  utmost 
perfection.  Painting,  sculpture,  and  architecture 
delight  the  eyes ;  and  they  had  advanced  them  to 
such  a  pitch,  that  their  villas,  cities,  and  whole  coun- 
try, were  full  of  entertaining  objects,  as  we  see  by  the 
descriptions  of  Pausanias.  They  excelled  also  in 
music ;  and  though  poetry  seems  to  strike  deeper  than 
the  senses,  it  reaches  no  farther  than  the  imagina- 
tion, which  has  the  same  objects,  and  produces  the 
like  effects.  Their  laws,  and  most  ancient  rules  of 
morality,  all  relate  to  the  senses;  providing  that  their 
lands  should  be  well  cultivated,  that  each  particular 
person  should  have  enough  to  live  comfortably  upon, 
that  men  should  marry  healthy  and  fruitful  wives, 
that  children  should  be  educated  so  as  to  have  strong 
constitutions,  and  be  fit  for  war  ;  and  that  every  body 
should  be  protected  from  being  injured,  either  by 
strangers  or  bad  neighbours. 

They  studied  the  good  of  the  soul  so  little  that 
they  depraved  it  extremely  by  the  too  great  care 
they  took  in  improving  the  body.  It  was  of  danger- 
ous consequence  to  expose  statues  and  pictures,  even 
the  most  obscene,  in  every  part  naked  and  uncovered: 
and  the  danger  was  still  greater  to  painters  and  sculp- 
tors, who  copied  from  the  life.  No  matter,  there 


136  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  H. 

was  a  necessity  for  gratifying  the  lust  of  the  eyes. 
It  is  well  known  at  what  a  degree  of  debauchery  the 
Greeks  were  arrived  by  these  fine  customs  :  they 
practised  the  most  abominable  lewdness,  and  not 
only  practised,  but  held  it  in  esteem.  Their  music 
and  poetry  likewise  fomenting  the  same  vices,  both 
excited  and  kept  up  jealousies  and  mortal  hatred 
betwixt  the  poets,  the  actors,  and  spectators  ;  and 
particular  characters  were  cruelly  slandered  and 
pulled  in  pieces  ;  but  this  never  gave  them  any  con- 
cern, provided  the  spectacles  were  diverting,  and  the 
songs  such  as  entertained  them. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  their  religion  :  instead  of 
improving,  it  was  prejudicial  to  their  morals.  Now 
the  rise  of  all  these  evils  was  man's  forgetting  himself 
and  his  spiritual  nature.  All  mankind  had  preserved 
a  constant  tradition  that  there  was  a  nature  more 
excellent  than  the  human,  capable  of  doing  them 
good  or  harm  ;  and  being  acquainted  with  none  but 
corporeal  beings,  they  would  persuade  themselves 
that  this  nature,  that  is,  the  divinity,  was  so  too :  and 
consequently  that  there  were  many  gods,  that  every 
part  of  the  creation  might  have  some,  and  that  each 
nation,  city,  and  family,  had  deities  peculiar  to  itself. 
They  fancied  they  were  immortal,  and,  to  make  them 
happy,  attributed  to  them  all  sorts  of  pleasures, 
("without  which  they  thought  there  could  be  no  true 
felicity,)  and  even  the  most  shameful  debaucheries  : 
which  afterwards  again  served  to  countenance  their 
own  passions  by  the  example  of  their  gods.  They 
were  not  content  with  imagining  them  either  in  hea- 
ven or  upon  earth  :  they  must  see  them  and  touch 
them  :  for  which  reason  they  honoured  idols  as  much 
as  the  gods  themselves,  conceiving  that  they  were 
united  and  incorporated  with  them :  and  they  honour- 
ed these  statues  so  much  the  more  for  their  beauty, 
or  antiquity,  or  any  other  singularity  they  had  to 
recommend  them.* 

*  Wisdom  xiii,  10. 


Ch.  XIX.]  Their  Idolatry.  137 

Their  worship  was  of  a  piece  with  their  belief.* 
It  was  wholly  founded  upon  two  passions,  the  love 
of  pleasure,  and  the  fear  of  coming  to  any  outward 
harm.  Their  sacrifices  were  always  accompanied 
with  feasts,  and  music,  and  dancing.  Comedy  and 
tragedy  had  their  rise  from  their  merry-makings  after 
vintage  in  honour  of  Bacchus. f  The  Olympic  games, 
and  other  trials  of  skill,  so  much  celebrated  in  history, 
were  instituted  in  honour  of  their  gods.  In  short,  all 
the  Grecian  shows  were  acts  of  religion,  and  it  was 
a  piece  of  devotion,  in  their  way,  to  assist  at  the  most 
scandalous  of  Aristophanes's  comedies.  Thus,  their 
chief  business  in  time  of  peace  was  taking  care  of  the 
sacred  combats  and  theatrical  shows  ;  and  often,  in 
time  of  war,  they  were  more  attentive  to  these  things, 
and  at  greater  expense  about  them,  than  in  the  war 
itself;! 

Their  religion  then  was  not  a  doctrine  of  morality, 
like  the  true  religion  ;§  they  reckoned  him  a  saint 
that  was  neither  murderer,  traitor,  nor  guilty  of  per- 
jury ;  who  avoided  the  company  of  those  that  had 
committed  such  crimes,  who  kept  up  the  rights  of 
hospitality  and  places  of  refuge,  who  faithfully  per- 
formed his  vows,  and  gave  liberally  towards  sacrifices 
and  public  shows.  Religion  was  looked  upon  as  a 
trade  ;j|  they  made  offerings  to  the  gods,  that  they 
might  obtain  what  they  desired  in  their  prayers.  As 
to  any  thing  else,  debauchery  did  not  offend  it  at  all. 
Apuleius,  after  all  the  villanous  actions  with  which 
he  fills  his  metamorphosis,  concludes  with  a  descrip- 
tion of  his  devotions,**  that  is,  how  officious  h^e  was 
to  get  himself  initiated  into  all  sorts  of  mysteries,  and 
how  exact  in  observing  all  the  ceremonies  of  them. 
Debauchery  was  so  far  from  being  condemned  by 
religion,  that  it  was  sometimes  enjoined  :  there  was 
no  celebrating  the  Bacchanal  feasts  in  a  proper  man- 
ner without  getting  drunk,ff  and  there  were  women 

*  Wisdom  xiv,  27—29.     f  Tcrtull.  de  Spect.  August.  2.  de  Civ.  Dei. 
i  Demosth.  Philipp.  5.     §  August,  de  vera  Relig.  in  init.    j|  Plate  Euty- 
phron.     **  Apul.  1.  i.     jt  Clem.  Alex,  in  protrept. 
12* 


138  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  II. 

that  prostituted  themselves  in  honour  of  Venus,  par- 
ticularly at  Corinth.  It  is  well  known  what  the  god  of 
gardens,  and  the  mysteries  of  Ceres  and  Cybele  were. 

Thus  they  honoured  the  gods  whom  they  thought 
kind  and  beneficent.  But  for  the  infernal  deities, 
Hecate,  the  Eumenides,  or  Furies,  the  Parcse,  or 
Destinies,  and  others,  with  the  stories  of  whom  they 
were  terrified,  they  were  to  be  appeased  with  noc- 
turnal sacrifices  and  frightful  inhuman  ceremonies. 
Some  buried  men  alive ;  others  sacrificed  children, 
and  sometimes  their  own  :*  as  the  worshippers  of 
Moloch  mentioned  with  so  much  detestation  in  Scrip- 
ture, who  still  kept  up  this  abominable  custom  in 
Africa  in  Tertullian's  time.f 

To  this  fear  and  dread  were  owing  all  the  rest  of 
their  cruel  and  troublesome  superstitions  ;  as  letting 
themselves  blood  with  lancets,  or  cutting  themselves 
with  knives,  as  the  false  prophets  of  Baal  and  the 
priests  of  Cybele  did  \%  as  their  fasting,  and  bathing- 
in  cold  water,§  and  other  such  things.  They  thought 
thereby  to  avert  particular  evils  or  public  calamities, 
with  which  they  were  threatened  in  dreams  and  pro- 
digies, according  to  the  interpretation  of  their  sooth- 
sayers. These  were  the  remedies  by  which  they 
imagined  they  could  prevent  sickness,  plagues,  hail, 
and  famine.  For  upon  such  occasions  mankind  is 
apt  rather  to  do  things  that  are  of  no  use  at  all,  than 
to  omit  any  thing  that  may  be  thought  serviceable. 
All  their  lustrations  or  expiations  for  crimes  were 
troublesome  superstitions  of  this  sort :  they  consisted 
in  purifying  the  body  by  water  or  fire,  and  perform- 
ing  certain  sacrifices  ;  but  there  was  no  mention  ot 
either  repentance  or  conversion. 

*  Wisd.  xiv,  23.     t  Tertull.  Apol.  c.  9.     J 1  Kings  xviii,  28. 
§  Jupiter,  ingentes  qui  das  adimisque  dolores, 
Frigida  si  puerum  quartana  reliquerit ;  illo 
Mane  die,  quo  tu  indicis  jejunia,  nudus 
In  Tiberi  stabit.— Hor.  Lib.  II,  Sat.  iii,  238—292. 

0  Jupiter,  thou  who  inflictest  and  removest  great  calamities, 

Jf  this  shivering  ague  shall  leave  my  son, 

He  shall  stand  naked  in  the  Tiber  on  the  morning  of  thy  fast  day 


Ch.  XIX.]  Their  Idolatry.  139 

It  will  seem  strange,  perhaps,  that  people  so  wise 
as  the  Grecians  should  be  led  away  by  such  gross 
superstitions,  and  so  easily  suffer  themselves  to  be 
imposed  upon  by  astrologers,  diviners,  soothsayers, 
and  many  other  sorts  of  conjurers.  But  it  must  be 
considered,  that,  till  Alexander's  time,  and  the  reign 
of  the  Macedonians,  they  had  made  no  great  progress 
in  such  learning  as  might  cure  them  of  superstition. 
They  excelled  in  aits ;  their  laws  were  wise  :  in  a 
word,  they  had  brought  every  thing  to  perfection  that 
makes  life  easy  and  agreeable :  but  they  took  little 
pains  in  the  speculative  sciences,  geometry,  astrono- 
my, and  physics.  The  anatomy  of  plants  and  animals, 
the  knowledge  of  minerals  and  meteors,  the  form  of 
the  earth,  the  course  of  the  planets,  arid  the  whole 
system  of  the  world,  were  still  mysteries  to  them. 

The  Chaldeans  and  Egyptians,  who  already  knew 
something  of  them,  kept  it  a  great  secret,  and  never 
spake  of  them  but  in  riddles,  with  which  they  mixed 
an  infinite  number  of  superstitions  and  fables. 

As  these  sciences  depend  chiefly  upon  experience, 
a  succession  of  ages  always  improves  them,  and  they 
are  at  present  in  the  greatest  perfection  they  ever 
Were.  They  are  taught  openly  to  any  one  that  will 
apply  himself  to  them  ;  and  they  agree  perfectly  with 
our  holy  religion,  which  condemns  all  superstition, 
divination,  and  magic  ;  ,however,  we  find  but  too 
many  that  give  ear  to  astrologers  and  such  impostors, 
not  only  peasants  and  ignorant  people  of  the  lowest 
sort,  but  ladies  that  value  themselves  upon  their  wit, 
politeness,  and  knowledge  ;  and  men  that,  notwith- 
standing they  have  had  a  good  education,  set  up  for 
freethinkers,  and  cannot  possibly  submit  to  the  dic- 
tates of  true  religion. 

What  then  must  be  the  case  when  all  this  nonsense 
made  a  part  of  religion  ;  when  conjurers  were  taken 
for  men  really  inspired  ;  when  astrology,  pyromancy, 
necromancy,  and  such  knaveries,  were  esteemed  di- 
vine knowledge  ?  How  was  it  possible  to  resist  the 
authority  of  the  priests,  who  gravely  recounted  an 


140  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  II. 

infinite  series  of  proofs  in  confirmation  of  their  doc- 
trine, and  were  implicitly  obeyed  by  whole  nations  ? 
They  could  not  help  believing  them,  when  they  did 
not  know  how  to  account  for  these  things  in  a  philo- 
sophical manner  ;  and  if  they  had  known,  they  must 
have  been  very  bold  to  have  contradicted  them.* 

A  proneness  to  idolatry  was  not  therefore  peculiar 
to  the  Israelites.  It  was  a  general  evil;  and  the 
hardness  of  heart  with  which  the  Scripture  so  often 
reproaches  them,  is  not  for  their  being  more  attached 
to  earthly  thii  gs  than  other  people,  but  for  being  so 
much  as  they  were,  after  having  received  such  par- 
ticular favours  from  the  hand  of  God,  and  seen  the 
great  wonders  that  he  had  wrought  for  them.  It  is 
true  much  resolution  was  necessary  to  resist  the 
influence  of  the  bad  example  of  all  other  nations. 
When  an  Israelite  was  out  of  his  own  country,  and 
among  infidels,  they  reproached  him  with  having  no 
religion  at  all,  because  they  did  not  see  him  offer  any 
sacrifice,  or  worship  idols :  and  when  he  told  them 
of  his  God,  the  creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  they 
laughed  at  him,  and  asked  where  he  was.  These 
taunts  were  hard  to  bear :  David  himself  says,  that 
when  he  was  an  exile  '  he  fed  himself  day  and  night 
with  his  tears,'  because  they  daily  asked  him  where 
his  God  tcas.f  Weak  minds  were  staggered  with 
these  attacks,  and  ofteii  gave  way  to  them. 

The  propensity  that  all  mankind  has  to  pleasure 
heightened  the  temptation :  as  th^e  heathen  feasts  were 
very  frequent  and  magnificent^  curiosity  easily  pre- 
vailed upon  young  people,  especially  women,  to  go 
and  see  the  pomp  of  their  processions,  the  manner  of 

*  The  intelligent  Abb<5  had  no  doubt  the  case  of  Galileo  in  view 
when  he  wrote  the  above.  This  great  philosopher,  for  asserting  the 
true  system  of  the  world,  was  twice  imprisoned  by  the  holy  infallible 
inquisition,  in  1612  and  1632  ;  obliged  to  renounce  his  heretical  opi- 
nions, and  not  to  defend  them  by  word  or  writing  ;  was  condemned 
to  imprisonment  during  pleasure,  and  to  repeat  the  seven  penitential 
Psalms  once  a  week  ;  and  his  books  being  condemned  also,  were  pub- 
licly burnt  at  Rome  !  The  doctrine,  for  which  he  was  persecuted,  is 
now  believed  by  the  Pope  and  all  his  conclave  ! 
f  Psalm  xliii,  3. 


Ch.  XIX.]  Their  Idolatry.  141 

dressing  out  the  victims,  the  dancing,  the  choirs  of 
music,  and  ornaments  of  their  temples.  Some  offi- 
cious body  engaged  them  to  take  a  place  at  ttie  feast, 
and  eat  the  meat  that  was  offered  to  idols,  or  come 
and  lodge  at  his  house.  They  made  acquaintance 
and  carried  on  love  intrigues,  which  generally  ended 
either  in  downright  debauchery,  or  marrying  contrary 
to  the  law.  Thus  did  idolatry  insinuate  itself  by  the 
most  common  allurements  of  women  and  good  cheer. 
In  the  time  of  Moses  the  Israelites  were  engaged  in 
the  infamous  mysteries  of  Baal  Peor  by  the  Midian- 
itish  women,*  who  were  the  strange  women  that  per- 
verted Solomon. 

Besides,  the  law  of  God  might  appear  too  severe  to 
them.  They  were  not  allowed  to  sacrifice  in  any 
place  but  one,  by  the  hands  too  of  such  priests  only 
as  were  descended  from  Aaron,  and  according  to 
some  very  strict  rules.  They  had  but  three  great 
feasts  in  the  whole  year,  the  passover,  pentecost, 
and  feast  of  tabernacles :  a  very  few  for  people  that 
lived  in  plenty,  and  in  a  climate  that  inclined  them 
to  pleasure  .  as  they  lived  in  the  country,  employed 
in  husbandry,  they  could  not  conveniently  meet 
together  but  at  feasts,  and  for  that  reason  were 
obliged  to  borrow  some  of  strangers,  and  invent 
others.  Do  not  we  ourselves,  who  think  we  are  so 
spiritual,  and  no  doubt  ought  to  be  so,  if  we  were 
true  Christians,  often  prefer  the  possession  of  tem- 
poral things  to  the  hope  of  eternal  ?  And  do  not  we 
endeavour  to  reconcile  many  diversions  with  the 
gospel,  which  all  antiquity  has  judged  inconsistent 
with  it,  and  against  which  our  instructers  are  daily 
exclaiming  ?  It  is  true  we  hold  idolatry  in  detestation, 
but  it  is  now  no  longer  a  familiar  sight,  and  has  been 
quite  out  of  fashion  above  a  thousand  years.  We  are 
not  then  to  imagine  that  the  Israelites  were  more 
stupid  than  other  people,  because  the  particular 
favours  they  had  received  from  God  could  not 
reclaim  them  from  idolatry.  But  it  must  be  owned 
*  Numb,  «T,  1—3, 


142  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  II. 

that  the  wound-  of  original  sin  was  very  deep,  when 
such  holy  instructions  and  repeated  miracles  were 
found  insufficient  to  raise  men  above  sensible  things.* 
But  however  impure  the  state  of  the  Israelites  may 
appear,  we  see  a  much  greater  degree  of  blindness 
and  impurity  in  other  nations,  particularly  among  the 
Greeks  and  Egyptians  ;  who  were  in  other  respect? 
the  most  enlightened. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

Their  political  State,  Liberty,  and  domestic  Power. 

AFTER  religion  we  must  say  something  of  the  poli- 
tical state  of  the  Israelites.  They  were  perfectly 
free,  especially  before  they  had  kings.  They  had 
neither  homages,  nor  manors,  nor  prohibitions  from 
hunting  or  fishing  ;  nor  any  of  those  kinds  of  depen- 
dencies which  are  so  common  among  us,  that  lords 
themselves  are  not  exempt  from  them.  For  we  see 
sovereign  princes  that  are  vassals,  and  even  officers 
under  other  sovereigns,  as  in  Germany  and  Italy. 
They  enjoyed  therefore  that  liberty  so  highly  valued 
by  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  it  was  their  own 
fault  that  they  did  not  enjoy  it  for  ever  ;  it  was  God's 
design  they  should,  as  appears  from  his  reproof  deli- 
vered to  them  by  Samuel,  when  they  asked  for  a 
king  :f  and  Gideon  seemed  to  be  well  apprised  of  it, 
since,  when  they  offered  to  make  him  king,  and 
secure  the  kingdom  to  his  posterity,  he  answered 
generously,  *  I  will  not  rule  over  you,  neither  shall 
my  son  rule  over  you ;  the  Lord  shall  rule  over  you.:]: 

Their  government  was  therefore  neither  a  mo- 
narchy, aristocracy,  nor  democracy,  but  a  theocra- 

*  And  here  we  may  see  the  absolute  necessity  of  that  holy  Spirit 
which  the  gospel  has  promised,  to  purify  thu  heart  from  all  its  defile- 
ments, to  bring  life  and  immortality  to  light,  and  to  give  us  corren 
notions  of  that  infinitely  pure  and  holy  Being,  who  is  to  be  worship- 
ped in  spirit  and  in  truth. 

t  1  Sam.  x,  18,  &c.     J  Judg.  viii,  23. 


Ch.  XX.]  Their  Political  State.  143 

cy,*  as  Josephus  calls  it :  that  is,  God  himself  govern- 
ed them  immediately  by  the  law  that  he  had  given 
them.  As  long  as  they  observed  it  faithfully  they 
lived  in  freedom  and  safety ;  as  soon  as  they  trans- 
gressed it  to  follow  their  own  imaginations  they  fell 
into  anarchy  arid  confusion  ;  which  the  Scripture 
shows,  when,  to  account  for  the  prodigious  wicked- 
ness of  the  times,  it  says,  '  In  those  days  there  was 
no  king  in  lsrat-1,  every  one  did  what  was  right  in  his 
own  eyes.'f  This  confusion  divided  and  weakened 
them,  and  made  them  become  a  prey  to  their  ene- 
mies ;  till,  recollecting  themselves,  they  returned  to 
God,  and  he  sent  them  some  deliverer.  Thus  they 
lived  under  the  Judges,  relapsing  time  after  time  into 
idolatry  and  disobedience  to  the  law  of  God,J  and 
consequently  into  slavery  and  confusion,  and  as  often 
repenting.  At  last  they  chose  rather  to  have  a  mas- 
ter over  them  than  to  continue  in  freedom  by  faith- 
fully observing  the  law  of  God. 

Their  liberty  reduced  to  these  just  bounds  consist- 

*  Though  they  were  guided  by  God's  peculiar  direction,  yet  the  form 
of  their  government  was  at  first  aristocratical,  which  continued  to  be 
the  basis  of  it  ever  after.  It  commenced  from  the  death  of  Jacob, 
who  divided  them  into  twelve  tribes,  appointing  his  sons,  with  the 
two  sons  of  Joseph,  to  be  rulers  or  princes  over  them :  Gen.  xlix.  See 
also  Exod.  vi,  4.  Josh,  xxii,  14.  No  one  tribe  had  superiority  over 
another;  for  it  is  said,  Gen. xlix,  16,  'Dan  shall  judge  his  people' 
in  the  same  manner  'as  one  of  the  tribes  of  Israel.'  And  hence  it  is, 
that,  upon  the  death  of  Joshua,  the  people  inquire  of  God,  '  who  should 
go  up  for  them  against  the  Canaanites,'  Judg.  i,  1 .  From  this  view 
we  see  the  meaning  of  that  important  prophecy,  Gen.  xlix,  10,  '  The 
sceptre  shall  not  depart  from  Judah  till  Shiloh  come  ;'  not  a  sceptre, 
as  most  interpreters  understand  it,  to  arise  in  Judah's  family  some  ages 
after  the  death  of  Jacob,  which  is  against  the  propriety  of  all  language  j 
not  a  dominion,  to  be  exercised  by  Judah  over  all  the  other  tribes, 
which  it  never  obtained ;  but  that  the  government  now  settled  in  each 
of  the  tribes,  which  would  depart  from  the  rest  long  before  the  coming 
of  £hiloh,  should  remain  with  Judah  till  Shiloh  came.  Accordingly 
the  Assyrian  captivity  was  ruin  to  the  ten  tribes  ;  but  the  Babylonish 
captivity  was  only  a  seventy  years'  transportation  of  Judah  into  a 
foreign  country,  where  they  continued  under  heads  and  rulers  of  their 
own :  which  privilege  they  enjoyed  till  after  the  death  of  Christ,  and, 
in  some  sort,  till  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. — See  this  proved  at 
large  in  the  third  incomparable  dissertation  of  the  bishop  of  London. 

E.  F. 

i  Judg.  xxi,  25.    { Ibid,  ii,  11,  22. 


144  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  II. 

ed  in  a  power  to  do  every  thing  that  was  not  forbid- 
den by  the  law,  without  obligation  to  do  any  more 
than  it  commanded  ;  or  being  subject  to  the  will  of 
any  particular  man  but  the  fathers  of  families,  who 
had  great  power  over  their  servants  and  children  at 
home.  There  were  some  Hebrews  slaves  to  their 
brethren  ;  and  the  law  mentions  two  cases  that  re- 
duced them  to  that  condition;  poverty,  which  obliged 
them  to  sell  themselves  ;*  and  commission  of  theft, 
which  they  were  not  able  to  make  amends  for.f  It 
appears  that  the  second  case  comprehended  debts 
likewise,  by  the  example  of  the  widow,  whose  oil 
Elisha  multiplied,  that  she  might  have  enough  to  pay 
her  creditors,  and  save  her  children  from  slavery.]: 
It  is  true,  these  Hebrew  slaves  might  regain  their 
freedom  at  the  end  of  six  years,  that  is,  in  the  sab- 
batical year  :§  and  if  they  were  then  not  disposed  to 
make  use  of  this  privilege  they  might  claim  their 
liberty,  and  that  of  their  children,  in  the  jubilee  or 
fiftieth  year.  ||  It  was  recommended  to  them  to  use 
their  brethren  mildly,  and  rather  to  make  slaves  of 
strangers.  We  see  how  submissive  their  slaves  were 
to  them  by  the  words  of  the  Psalmist ;  '  As  the  eyes 
of  servants  look  unto  the  hands  of  their  masters, 
even  so  our  eyes  wait  upon  the  Lord  our  God.'** 
From  which  we  may  collect  that  they  often  gave 
orders  by  signs,  and  that  servants  were  to  watch  their 
least  motions. 

The  Israelites  had  a  power  of  life  and  death  over 
their  slaves,  and  this  was  then  common  to  them  with 
all  nations.  For  slavery  proceeded  from  the  right 
they  acquired  by  conquest  in  war, ft  when,  instead 
of  killing  their  enemies,  they  chose  rather  to  give 
them  their  lives  that  they  might  have  the  use  of  them ; 
go  it  was  suppo,secl  the  conqueror  always  reserved 
the  power  of  taking  away  their  lives,  if  they  commit- 
ted any  thing  that  deserved  it ;  that  he  acquired  the 
same  power  over  their  children,  because  they  had 

*  Lev.  xxv,  39.  f  Exod.  xxii,  3.  J  2  Kings  iv,  1 .  §  Exod.  xxi,  2, 
(1  Lev.  xxv,  40.  **  Psa.  cxxiii,  2.  |t  Just,  de  Jure  Pers.  §  3. 


€h.  XX.]  Their  Political  State.  14d 

never  been  born,  if  he  had  not  spared  the  father,  and 
that  he  transmitted  this  power  when  he  alienated  his 
slave.  This  is  the  foundation  of  the  absolute  power 
of  masters  ;  and  they  seldom  abused  it,  for  their 
interest  obliged  them  to  preserve  their  slaves,  who 
made  part  of  their  riches  :  which  is  the  reason  of 
the  law,  that  he  should  not  be  punished  who  had 
smote  a  servant,  if  he  continued  alive  a  day  or  two 
after.  He  is  his  money,*  says  the  law,  to  show  that 
this  loss  was  a  sufficient  punishment ;  and  one  may 
presume  in  this  case  that  the  master  only  intended 
his  correction.  But  if  the  slave  died  under  the 
strokes,  it  was  to  be  supposed  the  master  had  a  real 
design  to  kill  him ;  for  which  the  law  declares  him 
punishable ;  in  which  it  was  more  merciful  than  the 
laws  of  other  people,  who  did  not  make  that  dis- 
tinction. The  Romans,  for  more  than  five  hundred 
years,  had  a  power  to  put  their  slaves  to  death,  to 
imprison  their  debtors  upon  default  of  payment,  and 
to  sell  their  own  children  three  times  over  before 
they  were  out  of  their  power  ;f  and  all  by  virtue  of 
those  wise  laws  of  the  twelve  tables  which  they 
brought  from  Greece,  at  the  time  when  the  Jews 
were  restored,  after  they  returned  from  captivity, 
that  is,  about  a  thousand  years  after  Moses. 

As  to  the  paternal  power  of  the  Hebrews,  the  law 
gave  them  leave  to  sell  their  daughters;}:  but  the 
sale  was  a  sort  of  marriage,  as  it  was  with  the  Ro- 
mans^ We  see  however  by  a  passage  in  Isaiah, 
that  fathers  sold  their  children  to  their  creditors  ;|j 
and  in  the  time  of  Nehemiah  the  poor  proposed  to 
sell  their  children  for  something  to  live  upon,  and 
others  bewailed  themselves  that  they  had  not  where- 
with to  redeem  their  children  that  were  already  in 
slavery.**  They  had  the  power  of  life  and  death 
over  their  children,  since  the  wise  man  says,  *  Chas- 
ten thy  son  whilst  there  is  hope,  but  persist  not  in  it 

*  Exod.  xxi,  20,  21.  f  Instit.  de  his  qui  sui  vel  al.  §  2.  Instit.  quib. 
mod.  jud.  Part  §  6.  J  Exod.  xxi,  7.  §  Per  Cocmptioncm.  ||  laa.  I,  l» 
**  Nehem.  v,  2,  5. 

13 


146  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II. 

to  cause  him  to  die.'*  Indeed  they  had  not  so  much 
liberty  as  the  Romans  to  make  use  of  this  severe 
privilege  without  the  magistrate's  knowledge.!  The 
law  of  God  only  permitted  the  father  and  mother, 
after  they  had  tried  all  sorts  of  correction  at  home, 
to  declare  to  the  elders  of  the  city  that  their  son  was 
stubborn  and  rebellious,  and  upon  their  complaint  he 
was  condemned  to  death  and  stoned,  t  The  same 
law  was  practised  at  Athens, §  and  founded  upon 
children's  lives  being  derived  from  their  parents,  and 
upon  a  supposition  that  none  could  be  so  unnatural 
as  to  put  their  children  to  death,  unless  they  had 
committed  some  horrible  crimes.  Now  the  dread  of 
this  power  was  of  great  use  in  keeping  children  in 
perfect  subjection. 

We  see  but  too  many  evils  proceed  from  relaxing 
or  rather  taking  away  this  paternal  authority.  Let  a 
son  be  ever  so  young,  as  soon  as  he  is  married,  or 
knows  how  to  live  without  his  father's  assistance,  he 
thinks  he  owes  him  no  longer  any  thing  but  a  little 
respect.  Thence  comes  the  infinite  number  of  small 
families  and  people  that  live  alone,  or  in  boarding 
houses,  where  all  are  equally  masters.  Such  young 
independent  people,  if  they  are  rich,  run  into  de- 
bauchery and  ruin  themselves.  If  they  are  poor,  they 
turn  vagabonds  whom  nobody  cares  to  own,  and  are 
capable  of  all  sorts  of  villany.  Besides  the  corrup- 
tion of  manners,  this  independency  may  also  occa- 
sion great  disorders  in  the  state ;  for  it  is  much  more 
difficult  to  rule  a  multitude  of  single,  untractable 
men,  than  a  few  heads  of  families,  each  of  whom 
was  responsible  for  a  great  number  of  persons,  and 
was  commonly  an  old  man  that  understood  the  laws. 

*  Prov.  xix,  18.     See  the  Hebrew,  and  the  margin  of  our  Bibles, 
t  Liv.  lib.  ii.    {  Deut.  xxi,  19.     §  Heliod.  i. 


Ch.  XXI.]     The  Authority  of  Old  Men.     .          147 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

The  Authority  of  Old  Men. 

.  NOT  only  fathers  but  all  old  men  had  great  autho- 
rity among  the  Israelites,  and  all  the  people  of  anti- 
quity. They  every  where,  in  the  beginning,  chose 
judges  for  private  affairs,  and  counsellors  for  the 
public,  out  of  the  oldest  men.*  Thence  came  the 
name  of  Senate  and  Fathers  at  Rome,  and  that  great 
respect  for  old  age  which  they  borrowed  from  the 
Lacedemonians.  Nothing  is  more  conformable  to 
nature.  Youth  is  only  fit  for  motion  and  action.  Old 
age  is  qualified  to  instruct,  advise,  and  command. 
'  The  glory  of  young  men  is  their  strength,'  says 
Solomon,  '  and  the  beauty  of  old  men  is  their  gray 
head.'f  It  is  not  likely  that  either  study  or  good 
parts  should  make  up  for  want  of  experience  in  a 
young  man  ;  but  an  old  man,  provided  he  have  good 
natural  sense,  is  wise  by  experience  alone.  All  his- 
tory proves  that  the  best  governed  states  were  those 
where  old  men  were  in  authority,  and  that  the  reigns 
of  princes  that  were  too  young  have  been  most 
unfortunate ;  which  explains  what  the  wise  man 
says,  'Wo  to  thee,  oh  land,  when  thy  king  is  a 
child.'!  And  it  is  this  wo  that  God  threatens  the 
Jews  with,  when  he  tells  them  by  Isaiah,  that  '  ho 
will  give  them  children  for  princes. '§  In  reality 
youth  has  neither  patience  nor  foresight,  is  an  ene- 
my to  all  rule,  and  seeks  nothing  but  pleasure  and 
variety. 

As  soon  as  the  Hebrews  began  to  be  formed  into 

*  Though  this  perhaps  may  be  true  of  the  original  institution  of  the 
Jewish  sanhedrim  and  Roman  senate  ;  yet  it  is  certain,  in  process  of 
time,  neither  assembly  consisted  of  the  oldest.  Patres  and  Seni&res, 
as  with  us  aldermen,  came  to  denote  rank  of  dignity,  not  of  age  ;  as 
Selden  observes,  de  Synedriis,  lib.  i.  c.  14,  p.  1092,  and  lib.  ii,  c.  9. 
§4,  p.  1423,  ed.  fol.  E.  F. 

1  Prov.  xx,  29.     }  Eccles.  x,  16. 

§  Isaiah  iii,  4.  Europe  well  knows  how  miserably  the  affairs  of  n 
nation  are  conducted  when  the  helm  of  the  state  is  confided  to  thf 
fjands  of  a  rash  young  man. 


148  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         Part  II.] 

a  people,  they  were  governed  by  old  men.  When 
Moses  returned  into  Egypt  to  promise  them  that 
God  would  set  them  at  liberty,  he  assembled  the  el- 
ders together,*  and  performed  the  miracles  which 
were  the  proof  of  his  mission  before  them.  All  the 
elders  of  Israel  came  to  the  feast  that  he  made  for 
Jethro  his  father-in-law. f  When  God  thought  fit  to 
give  council  to  relieve  him  in  governing  that  great 
people,  '  Gather  unto  me,'  said  he,  '  seventy  men  of 
the  elders  of  Israel,  whom  thou  knowest  to  be  elders 
of  the  people  and  officers  over  them.'  So  that  they 
had  already  authority  before  the  law  was  given,  and 
the  state  had  taken  its  form  4  In  the  whole  Scrip- 
ture afterwards,  as  often  as  mention  is  made  of  as- 
semblies and  public  affairs,  the  elders  are  always  put 
in  the  first  place,  and  sometimes  named  alone. 

Thence  comes  the  expression  in  the  Psalms,  ex- 
horting to  praise  God  in  *  the  congregation  of  the 
people'  and  in  « the  seat  of  the  elders,'§  that  is,  the 
public  council.  These  are  the  two  parts  that  com- 
posed all  the  ancient  commonwealths ;  the  assembly 
(which  the  Greeks  call  ecclesia,  (sxx>.7]<r«a,)  and  the 
Latins  concio)  and  the  senate.  The  name  of  elder 
Hgs$SvTsp<&>  became  afterwards  a  title  of  dignity; 
and  from  this  Greek  word  is  derived  the  Latin  name 
presbyter ;  and  from  the  Latin  word  senior,  elder, 
comes  the  name  of  seigneur,  or  lord.||  We  may  judge 

*Exod.  iv,29.     flbid.  xviii,  12. 

t  This  is  a  proof  that  the  power,  which  we  before  mentioned  to  be 
given  by  Jacob  to  the  heads  of  tribes,  took  place  immediately  upon  his 
death.  From  that  time  all  applications  and  messages  are  not  to  the 
people,  but  to  the  elders  of  Israel ;  Exod.  iii,  16,  xii,  21.  The  com- 
mand of  God,  sent  to  the  house  of  Jacob  and  the  children  of  Israel  in 
Egypt,  was  delivered  by  Moses  to  the  elders  of  the  people,  Exod.  xix, 
S,  7.  Bishop  Sherlock's  third  dissertation,  p.  304,  305.  Whether  the 
number  of  these  elders  who  made  up  the  sanhedrim  was  just  seventy 
of  seventy-two,  it  is  allowed  it  was  first  formed  out  of  Jacob's  children., 
who  went  into  Egypt,  and  that  it  always  represented  the  twelve  tribes. 
See  Maldonat  on  Luc.  xii,  1.  Grot  in  loc.  and  on  Numb,  xii,  1,  anfl 
Selden,  de  Synedriis,  lib.  II,  c.  iv,  8.  E.  F. 

§  Psalm  cvii,  32. 

jj  It  is  sometimes  curious  to  remark  the  progress  of  corruption  in  o 
word,  Tpcfffivrcpof,  presbyter,  ancient  French  prestre,  modern  Frencl. 
pretre,  and  English  pries/.  So  Kvpiov  ojxof,  Kuriou  oikos,  the  hmtsf  of 


Ch.  XXII.]     Their  administration  of  Justice.         149 

of  the  age  required  by  the  Hebrews  before  a  man  was 
reckoned  an  elder,  by  those  being-  called  young  men 
whose  advice  Rehoboam  followed;*  for  it  is  said 
they  had  been  educated  with  him;  from  which  it 
may  be  concluded  they  were  about  his  age,  who  was 
then  forty-one. f  , 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

Their  administration  of  Justice. 

JUSTICE  was  administered  by  two  storts  of  officers, 
shophetim  and  shoterim,  established  in  every  city  by 
the  command  which  God  gave  by  Moses.:}:  It  is 
certain  the  word  shophetim  signifies  judges  :  as  to 
shoterim,  it  is  differently  translated  by  the  Vulgate  :§ 
but  the  Jewish  tradition  explains  it  of  ministers  of 
justice,  as  sheriffs,  sergeants,  or  their  guards,  and 
other  officers.  These  posts, were  given  to  the  Le- 
vites,  and  there  were  six  thousand  of  them  in  David's 
time. ||  Such  were  the  judges  that  Jehoshaphat  re- 
stored in  each  city,  and  to  whom  he  gave  such  good 
instructions  ;**  the  Scripture  adds,  that  he  settled  at 
Jerusalem  a  company  of  Levites,ff  priests,  and  heads 
of  families,  to  be  judges  in  great  causes.  tJ  It  was  the 
council  of  seventy  elders,  erected  in  the  time  of  Mo- 
ses, over  which  the  high  priest  presided,  and  where 
all  questions  were  decided  that  were  too  hard  to  bo 
determined  by  the  judges  of  smaller  cities.  The  tra- 
dition of  the  Jews  is,  that  these  judges  of  particular 
cities  were  twenty-three  in  number;  that  they  were 
all  to  meet  to  judge  in  capital  cases,  and  that  three 

the  Lord,  contracted  into  Kupiooc,  Kurioik,  Scottish  Kirk,  and  English 
Church.  *  1  Kings  xii,  8.     f  2  Chron.  xii,  13. 

J  Deut.  xvi,  IS.    iS  |nn  0'iBBn  erBflff 

Judges  and  officers  shalt  thou  make  unto  thee. 

See  the  note  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 

§  JW«»tsiri,  masters  ;  pr&fecti,  prefects  ;  duces,  leaders  or  captains  ; 
prcecones,  heralds.     Josh,  iii,  2. 

||  1  Chron.  xxiii,  4.  +  *  2  Chron.  xix,  5,  6,  7.    ]]  Ibid,  v,  8.    JJ  Dent 
xvii,  8. 

13* 


i50  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  II. 

were  sufficient  for  causes  relating  to  pecuniary  mat- 
ters, and  such  as  were  of  little  consequence.*  The 
chief  judge  was  the  king,  according  to  the  saying  oi 
the  people  to  Samuel,  '  Give  us  a  king  to  judge  us.'f 

The  place  where  the  judges  kept  their  court  was 
the  gate  of  the  city ;  for  as  all  the  Israelites  were  hus- 
bandmen, who  went  out  in  the  morning  to  their  work, 
and  came  not  in  again  till  night,  the  city  gate  was  the 
place  where  most  people  met.  We  must  not  wonder 
that  they  wrought  in  the  fields,  and  abode  in  the 
cities.  They  were  not  such  as  the  chief  cities  of 
our  provinces,  which  can  hardly  be  maintained  by 
the  produce  of  twenty  or  thirty  leagues  round  them. 
They  were  only  the  habitations  of  as  many  labour- 
ers as  were  necessary  to  cultivate  the  ground  nearest 
hand.  Whence  it  came,  that  the  land  being  full  of 
inhabitants,  their  cities  were  very  numerous.  The 
tribe  of  Judah  only  reckoned  a  hundred  and  fifteen 
to  their  share, |  when  they  took  possession  of  it,  be- 
sides those  that  were  built  afterwards ;  and  each  city 
had  villages  dependant  upon  it. 

They  must  certainly  then  be  small,  and  very  near 
one  another,  like  common  towns,  well  built  and 
walled  in  ;  having,  in  other  respects,  every  thing  that 
is  to  be  found  in  the  country. 

The  public  place  for  doing  business  among  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  was  the  market-place,  or  ex- 
change, for  the  same  reason,  because  they  were  all 
merchants.  In  our  ancestors'  times  the  vassals  of 
each  lord  met  in  the  court  of  his  castle,  and  thence 
comes  the  expression,  the  courts  of  princes.  As  princes 
live  more  retired  in  the  east,  affairs  are  transacted  at 
the  gate  of  the  seraglio ;  and  this  custom  of  making 
one's  court  at  the  palace  gate  has  been  practised  ever 
since  the  times  of  the  ancient  kings  of  Persia,  as  we 
see  by  several  passages  in  the  book  of  Esther.  § 

The  gate  of  the  city  was  the  place  for  doing  all 
public  and  private  business  ever  since  the  times  of 

*  Sanhedr.  c.  i,  s.  6,  &c,  f  1  Sam.  viii,  5>  +  Josh,  xv,  21,  &f 
$  Esther  ii,  19.  HI,  2,  3.. 


Ch.  XXII.]     Their  administration  of  Justice.          151 

the  patriarchs.  Abraham  purchased  his  burying  place 
in  the  presence  of  all  those  that  entered  into  the  gate 
of  the  city  of  Hebron.*  When  Hamor  and  his  son 
Sichem,  who  ran  away  .with  Dinah,  purposed  to  make 
an  alliance  with  the  Israelites,  it  was  at  the  city  gates 
that  they  spake  of  it  to  the  people. f  We  see  the 
manner  of  these  public  acts,  with  all  the  particulars, 
in  the  story  of  Ruth .  ^  Boaz  designing  to  marry  her, 
was  to  have  another  person's  right  in  her,  who  was  a 
nearer  relation,  given  up  to  him  For  this  purpose, 
he  sits  at  the  gate  of  Bethlehem,  and  seeing  this  kins- 
man pass  by,  he  stops  him  :  then  he  takes  ten  of  the 
elders  of  the  city,  and  after  they  were  all  sat  down 
he  explained  his  pretensions  to  them,  and  got  the  ac- 
knowledgment which  he  desired  from  his  relation, 
with  all  the  formality  prescribed  by  the  law  ;  which 
was  to  pull  off  his  shoe.  He  took  not  only  the  elders, 
but  all  the  people  for  witnesses,  which  shows  a  great 
number  of  spectators  had  got  together  :  nor  is  it  un- 
likely that  curiosity  made  the  people  stop  as  they 
passed  by.  Their  business  was  seldom  in  great  haste  ; 
they  were  all  acquainted  and  all  related,  so  it  was 
natural  for  them  to  be  concerned  about  each  other's 
affairs. 

Perhaps  they  took  these  acts  down  in  writing :  but 
the  Scripture  does  not  take  notice  of  any,  except  in 
Tobit  and  Jeremiah,  a  little  before  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem.  In  Tobit  there  is  mention  made  oi 
a  bond  for  money  lent,  of  a  marriage  contract,  and 
an  instrument  of  covenants  made  upon  the  same  ac- 
count^ In  Jeremiah,  there  is  a  contract  upon  a 
purchase. ||  The  law  of  Moses  prescribes  no  writing 
except  in  case  of  divorce.**  But  if  they  had  not  made 
use  of  any  writings  in  those  early  times,  their  con- 
tracts would  have  been  very  safe,  since  they  were 
made  in  so  public  a  manner.  If  the  kinsman  of  Boa/ 
should  have  denied  that  he  had  given  up  his  right,  all 
the  inhabitants  of  Bethlehem  could  have  convicted 

*  Gen.xxiii,10, 18.  f  Ibid,  xxxiv,  20.  !  Rnth  iv.  §  Toh.  \ii.l  1; 
ii  J«r.  xxxli,  6—25.  **  Deut.  xxiv,  1 . 


152'  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         Part  1 1.  f 

liim  of  a  falsehood.  Some  of  them  were  present  at  it, 
and  others  must  have  heard  it  immediately  after. 

It  was  a  long  time  before  the  custom  of  putting 
private  contracts  into  writing  was  introduced  among 
the  Romans,  as  appears  by  the  verbal  obligation 
which  they  called  stipulation.  They  were  not  afraid 
of  an  action  wanting  proof,  when  they  had  pronoun- 
ced a  certain  solemn  form  in  the  public  market-place 
among  all  the  people,  and  taken  some  particular  citi- 
zens to  witness  it,  who  were  of  reputable  condition 
and  unblemished  character.  These  transactions  were 
full  as  public  as  those  among  us  that  are  done  in  pri- 
vate houses  before  a  public  notary,  who  often  knows 
neither  party,  or  before  the  town  clerk  and  two  hack 
witnesses. 

We  may  suppose  the  gate  with  the  Hebrews  was 
the  same  thing  as  the  square,  or  market-place,  with 
the  Romans.  The  market  for  provisions  was  held  at 
the  city  gate.  Elisha  foretold  that  victuals  should  be 
sold  cheap  the  day  after  in  the  gate  of  Samaria.* 
This  gate  had  a  square,  which  must  have  been  a  large 
one,  because  king  Ahab  assembled  four  hundred  false 
prophets  there.  I  suppose  it  was.  the  same  in  other 
cities,  and  that  these  gates  had  some  building  with 
seats  for  the  judges  and  elders  ;  for  it  is  said  that 
Boaz  went  up  to  the  gate  and  sat  down  there  :  and 
when  David  heard  that  Absalom  was  dead,  he  went 
up  to  the  chamber  over  the  gate  to  weep  there,  f 
This  chamber  might  be  the  place  for  private  delibera- 
tions. Even  in  the  temple  of  Jerusalem  causes  were 
tried  at  one  of  the  gates,  and  the  judges  held  their 
assizes  there 4  After  all  these  examples,  it  is  not  to 
be  wondered  that  the  Scripture  uses  the  word  gate 
so  often  to  signify  judgment,  or  the  public  council  of 
each  city,  or  the  city  itself,  or  the  state  ;  and  that  in 
(he  gospel  the  gates  of  hell  signify  the  kingdom  or 
power  of  the  devil. 

But  as  open  and  fairly  as  we  may  think  the  Israel- 
ites transacted  their  affairs,  it  must  not  be  imagined 
*  2  Kings  vi>,  1.  -f  2  Sam.  xViii,  33.  {  Jer.  xxvi,  10, 


Oh.  XXII.]      Officers  Civil  and  Military.  153 

that  they  had  no  frauds  and  rogueries,  unjust  prose- 
cutions, or  false  accusations.  These  are  evils  inse- 
parable from  the  corruption  of  human  nature  ;  and 
the  more  spirit  and  vivacity  men  naturally  have,  the 
more  are  they  subject  to  them :  but  these  evils  are 
more  peculiarly  the  growth  of  great  cities.  When 
David  fled  from  Jerusalem  upon  Absalom's  rebellion, 
he  represents  *  fury  and  discord  going  about  day  and 
night  within  the  walls  thereof,  mischief  and  sorrow 
in  the  midst  of  it,  and  deceit  and  guile  in  her  streets.'* 
The  prophets  are  full  of  such  reproaches  :  only  one 
may  imagine  these  evils  were  less  common  than  they 
are  now,  because  there  were  fewer  lawyers  among 
them. 

As  temporal  affairs,  as  well  as  spiritual,  were  go- 
verned by  the  law  of  God,  there  was  no  distinction  of 
tribunals :  the  same  judges  decided  cases  of  con- 
science, and  determined  civil  or  criminal  causes. 
Thus  they  had  occasion  for  but  few  different  offices 
and  officers,  in  comparison  of  what  we  see  in  the 
present  day.  For  we  account  it  an  uncommon  thing 
to  be  only  a  private  man,  and  to  have  no  other  em- 
ployment than  improving  our  estate,  or  governing  our 
family.  Every  body  is  desirous  of  some  public  post, 
to  enjoy  honours,  prerogatives,  and  privileges :  and 
employments  are  considered  as  trades  which  are  a 
livelihood,  or  as  titles  of  distinction.  But  if  we  were 
to  examine  what  public  offices  only  are  really  neces- 
sary, and  the  business  done  in  them,  we  should  find 
that  a  very  few  persons  would  be  sufficient  to  execute 
them,  and  have  spare  time  enough  besides  for  then- 
private  affairs. 

This  was  the  practice  among  all  the  people  of  an- 
tiquity,, and  especially  the  Hebrews.  In  Joshua's 
time  we  find  but  four  sorts  of  public  officers ;  ziko- 
mm,  senators  or  elders ;  rashim,  chiefs  ;  shophetim, 
judges  ;  and  shoterim,  inferior  officers. f  When  the 

*  Psalm  Iv,  10,  Sic. 

f  ZIKONIM,  from  jpf  to  grmo  old,  were  the  elders  of  (he  people, 
something  like  our  eldermen,  or  aldermen. 


154  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II . 

kingdom  was  more  flourishing,  in  David's  time,  the 
following  officers  are  mentioned :  six  thousand  Le- 
vites,  officers  and  judges ;  the  heads  of  tribes ;  heads 
of  families  ;*  which  are  rather  names  of  quality  than 
employment ;  the  heads  of  twelve  corps,  of  twenty-four 
thousand  men  each ;  the  heads  of  one  thousand,  and  of 
a  hundred  men  ;  the  heads  over  those  that  tenanted  the 
king's  demesnes,  that  is,  his  lands  and  cattle.  I  call 
those  heads  here  whom  the  Hebrew  calls  sirim,  and 
the  Latin  principes.^  But  I  must  observe,  once  for 
all,  that  it  is  impossible  to  express  the  titles  of  offices 
and  dignities  in  another  language.  Thus,  neither 
the  Greek  nor  Latin  versions  give  us  a  just  idea  of 
the  Chaldean  employments,  taken  notice  of  in  Da- 
niel, |  Ezekiel,§  and  others. 

Besides,  among  David's  officers  they  reckon  his 
eunuchs  or  domestic  servants ;  for  throughout  the 
Scripture  the  word  eunuch  is  often  taken  for  what 
we  call  a  valet-de-chambre,  or  footman;  or,  in  general, 
for  any  servant  employed  about  the  king's  person, 
without  signifying  any  personal  imperfection.  Cap- 
tains over  fifty  men  are  likewise  mentioned  in  other 
places  :  but  we  find  nothing  of  captains  over  tens,  ex- 
cept in  the  law.  Most  of  these  posts  are  military : 
and  the  rest  are  but  a  trifle,  if  one  considers  the  mul- 
titude of  people,  and  the  extent  of  David's  kingdom. 

RASHIM,  from  jytf"1  to  be  head  or  chief,  probably  military  chiefs  or 
captains. 

SHOPHETIM,  from  0327  '°  discern,  judge,  determine,  judges  in  civil 
matters  ;  hence  the  Carthagenian  sufetes. 

SHOTERIM,  from  -^jy  a  side  or  part,  subordinate  magistrates  who 
appear  to  have  been  deputies  to  the  shophetim.     See  Josh,  xxiv,  1. 
'  *  1  Chron.  xxiii,  4. 

t  SARJM,  from  ly  to  direct,  rule,  and  regulate,  probably  military 
officers  over  larger  and  smaller  companies  of  men ;  captains  ovn 
Thousands,  hundreds,  &c.  See  1  Curon.  xxviii,  1. 

*  Dan.  Hi,  3.     §  Ezek.  xxiii,  23. 


€h.  XXIII. ]  Their  Wars.  155 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Their  Wars. 

AFTER  the  administration  of  justice,  we  must  speak 
of  war.  There  was  not  an  Israelite  that  did  not  carry 
arms,  the  priests  and  Levites  not  excepted.  Benaiah 
the  priest,  son  of  Jehoiada,  was  one  of  the  most  re- 
nowned for  bra  very  in  David's  army,*  and  was  general 
of  Solomon's  troops  in  the  room  of  Joab.  All  were 
reckoned  soldiers  that  were  of  age  for  service,  and 
that  was  at  twenty  years  old  and  up  wards,  f  They 
were  like  the  militia  in  some  countries,  always  ready- 
to  assemble  at  the  first  notice.  The  difference  is, 
that  with  us  all  ecclesiastics  are  forbidden  the  use  of 
arms,  and  that  we  have  moreover  an  infinite  number 
of  people  unfit  for  war ;  lawyers,  receivers  of  the 
king's  revenues,  citizens,  merchants,  and  tradesmen : 
whereas,  they  were  all  husbandmen  and  shepherds, 
inured  from  their  childhood  to  labour  and  fatigue. | 
Nor  is  it  improbable  that  they  used  them  to  handle 
arms,  at  least  from  the  time  of  David  and  Solomon. 
Thus,  at  Rome,  all  the  citizens  of  such  an  age  were 
obliged  to  serve  a  certain  number  of  campaigns,  when 
they  were  commanded  :  from  whence  it  comes  that 
they  did  not  use  the  expression  of  levying  troops,  but 
called  it  choosi,ng§  them,  because  they  had  always  a 
great  many  more  than  they  wanted. ||  It  was  no  dif- 
ficult thing  for  the  Israelites  to  support  their  armies  ; 
the  country  was  so  small,  and  the  enemy  so  near, 
that  they  often  came  back  to  lodge  at  home,  or  had 
but  one  or  two  day's  march. 

*  2  Sam.  xxiii,  20.  1  Kings  ii,  35.  |  Numb,  i,  3,  22.  J  2  Chron. 
viii,  9. 

§  Habere  delectum  civis  et  Peregrini.  Cic. 

||  And  this  is  what  our  Lord  refers  to  in  the  gospel,  when  he  so  often 
says,  '  Many  are  called,  but  few  chosen.'  The  great  mass  of  the  people 
was  called  together,  and  a  choice  was  made  of  those  who  were  most  fit 
for  service.  The  rest  returned  to  their  respective  occupations,  and 
those  on  whom  the  choice  fell  were  employed  in  military  duty.  But 
both  parties  were  equally  valuable,  and  necessary  to  the  safety  and 
welfare  of  the  state. 


156  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II, 

Their  arms  were  nearly  fhe  same  with  those  of  the 
Greeks  and  Romans:  swords,  bows  and  arrows, 
javelins  and  spears,  that  is  to  say,  half  pikes  ;  for  we 
must  not  imagine  the  ancients  had  hand  spears,  such 
as  our  ancient  cavalry  used.  Their  swords  were 
broad,  and  hung  upon  their  thigh.*  They  made  use 
of  slings,  as  we  may  see  in  the  men  of  Gibeah  in 
Benjamin,  who  could  have  slung  to  a  hair's  breadth; 
and  the  same  Gibeonites  fought  alike  with  both 
hands. f  Saul  commonly  held  a  javelin  in  his  hand.:}: 
Homer  represents  his  heroes,  and  the  Romans,  Qui- 
rinus  and  their  other  gods  in  the  same  manner.  But 
they  did  not  wear  any  arms,  except  upon  duty,  not 
so  much  as  a  sword.  When  David  ordered  his  men 
to  march  against  Nabal,  he  first  bids  them  'gird  on 
their  swords,'§  though  they  lived  in  a  state  of  conti- 
nual alarm.  The  custom  of  always  wearing  a  sword 
by  the  side  was  peculiar  to  the  Gauls  and  Ger- 
mans. 

For  defensive  arms  they  carried  shields,  bucklers, 
helmets,  armour  for  the  back  and  breast,  and  some- 
times greaves  to  cover  the  legs.  We  see  an  instance 
of  a  complete  suit  of  armour  in  that  of  Goliah,  which 
was  all  brass,  ||  like  that  of  the  Greeks  in  Homer. 
But  it  looks  as  if  these  arms  were  scarce  among  the 
Israelites  at  that  time,  since  king  Saul  offered  to  lend 
David  his.  They  became  common  afterwards,  and 
Uzziah  had  sufficient  to  furnish  all  his  troops,  which 
.  were  more  than  tliree  hundred  thousand  men.**  The 
same  king  erected  machines  upon  the  towers  on  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem  to  throw  great  stones  and  arrows, 
and  fortified  several  cities  as  most  other  kings  did. 
Thus  war  was  carried  on  so  early,  almost  in  the  same 
manner  as  it  was  in  later  times  before  the  invention 
of  fire  arms. 

The  Israelites  had  only  infantry  at  first,  and  that 
was  also  the  chief  strength  of  the  Greeks  and  Ro- 

*  Psalm  xlv,  3.  Cant,  iii,  8.  f  J"dg.  xx,  16.  J  1  Sam.  xviii,  10,  and 
xix,  9.  §  1  Sam.  xxv,  13.  *1  Sam.  xvii,  5, 6.  Ibid.  38.  **  2  Chron. 
xxvi,  13—15. 


Ch.  XXIII.]  Their  Wars.  157 

mans.  Cavalry  is  not  so  necessary*  in  hot  countries, 
where  they  can  always  travel  dryshod  :  neither  can 
they  be  of  much  use  in  mountains ;  but  they  are  of 
great  advantage  in  cpld  climates  where  the  roads  are 
dirty,  and  to  make  long  marches  over  plains  that  are 
either  barren  or  thinly  inhabited,  as  in  Poland  and 
Tartary. 

But  they  had  cavalry  under  their  kings  ;  and  the 
first  sign  of  Absalom's  revolt  was  raising  horses  and 
chariots  ;  and  yet,  when  he  had  lost  the  battle,  he  got 
upon  a  mule  to  make  his  escape,  f  Solomon,  who 
could  bear  any  expense,  sent  for  a  vast  number  of 
horses  out  of  Egypt,  and  kept  forty  thousand  of  them, 
with  twelve  thousand  chariots  4  Their  chariots  of 
war  were  probably,  like  those  of  the  Greeks,  small, 
with  two  wheels,  that  would  carry  one  or  two  men 
standing  upright  or  leaning  upon  the  forepart.  The 
succeeding  kings,  who  could  not  support  the  great 
expense  that  Solomon  did,  sent  from  time  to  time  for 
succours  to  Egypt,  and  upon  these  occasions  there 
is  always  mention  made  of  horses.  The  Jews  must 
have  had  no  cavalry  in  Hezekiah's  time,  by  Rabsha- 
keh's  insolence  in  saying  to  them,  '  Come  into  my 
master's  service,  the  king  of  Assyria,  and  I  will  de- 
liver thee  two  thousand  horses,  if  thou  be  able  on  thy 
part  to  set  riders  upon  them.'§ 

*  The  neglect  of  cavalry  among  the  Israelites  has  afforded  to  an  ex- 
( client  writer  a  strong  internal  proof  of  that  people's  being  under  the 
immediate  guidance  of  a  supernatural  power.  "The  prohibition  is  ex- 
press, Deut.  xvii,  '  He'  (that  is,  whoever  shall  be  king  of  Israel)  '  shall 
not  multiply  horses  to  himself,  nor  cause  the  people  to  return  to  Egypt.' 
Vceordingiy  they  prospered  or  were  defeated  as  they  obeyed  or  trans- 
gressed this  divine  command ;  which,  as  he  observes,  it  is  impossible  to 
justify  by  the  measures  of  human  prudence.  See  Bishop  Sherlock's  fourth 
Diosertat.  Dr.  Warburton,  pursuing  the  same  argument,  observes, 
with  our  author,  that  even  upon  political  reasons  the  Jews  might  be 
justified  in  the  disuse  of  cavalry  in  defence  of  their  country,  but  not  in 
conquering  it  from  a  warlike  people  who  abounded  in  horses.  Here  at 
least  the  exertion  of  an  extraordinary  providence  was  wonderfully 
conspicuous.  See  Div.  Leg.  vol.  ii,  book  iv,  §  5.  E.  F. 

f  2  Sam.  xviii,  9.     J  1  Kings  iv,  26.    2  Chron.  ix,  '25. 

§  2  Kings  xviii,  23.  The  above  is  a  literal  translation  from  the  Vul- 
gate, iind  differs  considerably  in  the  first  clause  from  that  in  the  English 
version.  The  word  3ij»nn  which  we  translate  give  pledges,  and  the 

14 


158  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II. 

The  Scripture  informs  us  of  no  particulars  relating 
to  their  military  evolutions,  the  form  of  their  batta- 
lions, or  general  order  of  battle,  though  it  often  speaks 
of  troops  in  battle  array  :  but  for  the  art  of  encamp- 
ing and  marching  in  good  order,  the  journey  through 
the  wilderness  is  a  noble  example  of  it.  The  number 
of  this  prodigious  army  was  known  by  -exact  lists  : 
each  man  was  set  down  in  his  tribe,  each  tribe  in  its 
quarter  under  one  of  the  four  heads,  according  to 
the  order  of  birthright  among  the  patriarchs,  and  the 
quality  of  their  mothers.*  They  marched,  by  sound 
of  trumpet,  always  in  the  same  order  ;  and  always 
quartered  in  the  same  situation  about  the  tabernacle 
of  the  covenant,  which  was  the  centre  of  the  camp. 
They  took  all  proper  care  for  keeping  their  quarters 
clean,f  which  was  very  necessary  in  so  warm  a  coun- 
try, and  hard  to  be  done  in  so  vast  a  multitude.  In 
short,  we  see  that  the  way  of  encamping,  and  every- 
thing else  that  we  admire  with  so  much  reason  in  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  was  taken  from  the  ancient 
models  of  the  eastern  people.  The  Hebrews  set  a 
high  value  upon  their  booty  and  spoils,  as  all  the  na- 
tions of  antiquity  did  :  they  were  marks  of  honour. 

From  Joshua's  time  to  the  kings  the  command  of 
armies  belonged  to  those  whom  the  people  chose,  or 
God  raised  up  in  an  extraordinary  manner,  as  Oth- 
niel,  Barak,  and  Gideon  :  but  none  were  subject  to 
them  but  the  country  or  the  people  that  chose  them, 
or  to  whom  God  gave  them  for  deliverers.  The  rest 
of  the  people,  abusing  their  liberty,  often  exposed 
themselves  to  the  insults  of  their  enemies  :  which 
made  them  ask  for  a  king,  not  only  to  do  them  jus- 
tice, but  also  to  conduct  their  armies,  and  make  war 
for  them.  |  From  that  time  too  they  were  in  much 

Vulgate  transite,  passovcr,  will  have  this  latter  meaning  by  the  simple 
transposition  of  the  two  last  letters  3  and  ^  thus:  TTUjin  j  and  so 


St.  Jerom  must  have  read  it  in  his  Hebrew  copy.  As,  thus  understood, 
the  words  of  Rabshakeh  convey  a  strong  solicitation  to  mutiny  and 
defection,  it  is  most  likely  that  this  is  the  true  original  reading. 

*  Numb,  i,  2,  &c.    f  ^id.  v,  2,  &c.  Deut.  xxiii,  10,  11,  &c.    1  1  Sam. 
THi,  20. 


Ch.  XXIV.]  Their  Kings.  159 

more  safety.  The  king  called  the  people  together 
when  he  judged  it  convenient,  and  always  kept  up  a 
great  number  of  forces.  It  is  observed  in  the  begin- 
ning of  Saul's  reign  that  he  maintained  three  thou- 
sand men.*  David  had  twelve  bodies  of  four  and 
twenty  thousand  each,  who  served  monthly  by  turns. 
Jehoshaphat  had  not  a  third  part  of  David's  kingdom, 
and  yet  he  had  eleven  hundred  and  sixty  thousand 
fighting  men  in  his  service,  without  reckoning  gar- 
risons, f 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Their  Kings. 

THE  king  had  the  power  of  life  and  death,  and 
could  put  criminals  to  death  without  the  formality  of 
justice.  David  made  use  of  this  prerogative  in  the 
case  of  him  who  boasted  that  he  had  killed  Saul,  and 
of  those  that  murdered  Ishbosheth.|  The  Roman 
emperors  possessed  a  similar  power.  The  kings  of 
Israel  levied  tribute  upon  the  Israelites  themselves, 
for  Saul  promises  that  all  the  family  of  the  man  that 
would  fight  Goliah  should  be  exempted  from  it  ;§ 
and  it  appears  that  Solomon  had  laid  excessive  taxes 
upon  them  by  the  complaints  made  to  Rehoboam.|[ 
The  power  of  kings  was  in  other  respects  very  much 
limited :  they  were  obliged  to  keep  the  law  as  well  as 
private  men  ;  they  could  neither  add  to  nor  diminish 
it,  and  there  is  no  instance  of  any  of  them  making  so 
much  as  one  new  law.  Their  way  of  living  at  home 
was  very  plain,  as  we  may  see  by  the  description  that 
Samuel  gave  of  their  manners  to  put  the  people  out 
of  conceit  with  them  :**  he  allows  them  only  women 
for  household  affairs  ;  yet  they  had  a  great  attend- 
ance when  they  appeared  in  public.  Among  the 
igns  of  Absalom's  rebellion,  the  Scripture  reckons 

*  1  Sam.  xiii,  2.     f  iChron.  xxvii,  1,  &c.    J  2  Sam.  i,  15.  Ibid,  iv,  12: 
§  1  Sam.  XTii,  25.     ||  1  Kings  xii,  14.     **  1  Sam.  viii,  10—18. 


160  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  II , 

fifty  men  that  ran  before  him,*  and  the  same  is  said 
of  his  brother  Adonijah.f 

The  kings  lived  sparingly  as  well  as  private  people  : 
the  difference  was,  they  had  more  land  and  herds. 
When  David's  riches  are  reckoned  up  indeed,  his 
treasures  of  gold  and  silver  are  put  into  the  account ; 
but  so  are  his  tillage  and  vineyards,  his  stores  of  wine 
and  oil,  his  plantations  of  olive  and  fig  trees,  his  herds 
and  kine,  camels,  asses,  and  sheep. f  Thus  Homer 
describes  the  riches  of  Ulysses ;  he  says  he  had 
twelve  great  herds  of  each  sort  of  cattle  upon  the 
continent,  besides  what  he  had  in  his  island.  §  They 
took  out  of  this  great  stock  what  was  necessary  to 
maintain  their  household.  There  were  in  Solomon's 
time  twelve  overseers  distributed  through  the  land 
of  Israel,  who,  each  in  his  turn,  sent  monthly  pro- 
visions for  the  table,)!  which  for  one  day  were  'thirty 
measures  of  fine  flour,  and  threescore  measures  of 
meal,  ten  fat  oxen,  and  twenty  out  of  the  pastures, 
and  a  hundred  sheep,  besides  harts,  and  roebucks, 
and  fallow  deer,  and  fatted  fowl,'**  enough  to  feed 
at  least  five  thousand  people.  As  this  provision  was 
the  product  of  the  country  itself,  there  was  no  need 
to  buy  any  thing,  nor  any  want  of  purveyors,  trea- 
surers, or  comptrollers,  nor  of  that  vast  number  of 
officers,  which  eat  up  great  lords ;  so  that  gold  and 
silver  continued  laid  up,  or  served  for  its  most  na- 
tural use,  to  be  manufactured  into  plate  and  house- 
hold ornaments. 

Hence  came  the  vast  riches  of  David  and  Solo- 
mon, ft  David  prepared  all  that  was  necessary  for 
building  the  temple,  the  value  of  which  came  to  « 
hundred  and  eight  thousand  talents  of  gold,  and  u 
million  and  ten  thousand  talents  of  silver  ;||  that  is. 
about  fa e  hundred  and  thirty-four  millions,  eight  hun- 
dred and  fifty-nine  thousand,  seven  hundred  and  eighty- 

*2Sam.  xv,  1.  f  1  Kings  i,  5.  \  1  Chron.  xxvii,  25,  &c.  §0dys«. 
\iv,  v.  100.  I]  1  Kings  iv,  7.  **  1  Kings  w,  22,  &c.  if  1  Chron. 
xxix.  t|  1  Chron.  xxii,  14.  In  the  original  only  one  hundred  thon- 
simd  talents  of  gold. 


Ch.  XXIV.]       Their  Royal  Revenues.  161 

four  pounds  sterling.  Besides,  he  caused  great  trea- 
sures to  be  laid  up  in  his  sepulchre.  Solomon  built 
a  great  number  of  palaces,  fortified  several  cities,  and 
rinished  several  public  works.  All  the  plate  and  fur- 
niture of  his  house  at  mount  Libanus  was  of  pure 
gold ;  besides  two  hundred  golden  targets,  each  of 
which  was  worth  about  jive  hundred  and  ninety-six 
pounds ;  or  a  hundred  and  nineteen  thousand  two  hun- 
dred pounds  sterling  in  all ;  and  three  hundred  buck- 
lers, worth  two  hundred  and  seventy-Jive  pounds  apiece ; 
which  amounts  to  about  eighty-two  thousand  jive  hun- 
dred pounds  sterling.* 

His  revenues  too  were  great.  Commerce  alone 
brought  him  in  every  year  six  hundred  and  sixty -six 
talents  of  gold ;  which  make  one  million,  nine  hun- 
dred and  seventy  thousand,  eight  hundred  and  thirty- 
four  pounds  sterling.  He  made  the  Israelites  pay 
tribute,  and  all  foreigners  that  were  under  his  domi- 
nion, the  Hivites,  the  Amorites,  and  all  the  other 
ancient  inhabitants  of  the  land  of  Israel,  the  Idu- 
means,  great  part  of  Arabia,  and  all  Syria :  for  his 
empire  extended  from  the  border-s  of  Egypt  to  Eu- 
phrates ;  and  all  the  countries  that  were  so  rich  sent 
him  every  year  vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  cloth, 
arms,  perfumes,  horses,  and  mules.  These  reflec- 
tions may  serve  to  make  one  understand  how  Croesus 
came  by  his  riches  in  a  kingdom  about  the  same  size 
as  that  of  Solomon.  Silver  and  gold  were  not  yet 
dispersed  through  the  world.  There  was  but  little 
in  Greece,  none  in  Italy  and  the  rest  of  Europe, 
except  Spain,  where  they  had  some  mines. 

Let  us  stand  still  a  little  to  consider  the  prosperity 
of  Solomon,  for  it  is  an  agreeable  contemplation. 
If  we  were  to  read  all  history  through,  we  should  not 
find  one  example  of  such  a  perfect  conjunction  of  all 
the  good  things  that  are  to  be  enjoyed  in  this  world : 
a  young  prince  in  the  flower  of  his  age,  of  a  hand- 

*  See  the  proper  method  of  calculating  the  Hebrew  talent,  and  the 
value  of  the  shields,  so  as  to  bring  them  into  English  money,  Part  IV, 
in  fine. 

14* 


1 C  3  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [  Part  1 1 . 

some  person,  of  great  parts,  learning,  and  accom- 
plishments ;  in  such  reputation  for  wisdom  that  all 
the  earth  sought  to  hear  him  ;*  and  a  queen  came  in 
person  from  a  great  distance  to  converse  with  him.f 
He  was  master  of  a  large  kingdom,  which  was  in  a 
state  of  profound  peace,  inhabited  the  finest  country 
in  the  world,  had  the  most  magnificent  palaces,  and 
numerous  attendants ;  was  loaded  with  riches,  swim- 
ming in  pleasures,  denying  himself  nothing,  as  he 
owns,  and  employing  all  his  vast  genius  to  satisfy  his 
desires. |  This  we  should  call  a  happy  man,  ac- 
cording to  our  natural  ideas.  Yet  it  is  certain  he 
was  not  so,  because  he  was  not  contented.  He  him- 
self says  that  he  found  pleasure  and  joy  were  only 
illusion,  and  that  all  his  labour  was  but  vanity  and 
vexation  of  spirit.  § 

By  this  prosperity  of  Solomon  and  his  people,  God 
gave  two  important  lessons  to  mankind  at  the  same 
time.  First,  he  shows  his  faithfulness  in  accom- 
plishing his  promises,  by  giving  the  Israelites  so 
plentifully  of  all  the  good  things  which  he  had  pro- 
mised their  fathers  in  the  possession  of  this  land  ; 
that  no  one  hereafter  might  doubt  of  his  power  to 
reward  those  that  adhere  to  him  and  keep  his  com- 
mandments. Men  that  applied  themselves  so  en- 
tirely to  earthly  things,  stood  in  need  of  such  an 
earnest,  to  make  them  believe  they  should  hereafter 
enjoy  an  invisible  happiness,  and  the  recompense  of 
another  life.  But  besides,  by  granting  the  Israelites 
the  possession  of  these  earthly  goods,  and  profusely 
heaping  on  them  whatever  might  contribute  to  the. 
happiness  of  this  life,  God  has  given  all  men  an  op- 
portunity of  seeing  them  in  a  true  light,  and  con- 
ceiving higher  hopes.  For  who  under  the  sun  cau 
pretend  to  be  happy  if  Solomon  was  not  ?  Who  can 
doubt  that  whatever  happens  in  this  world  is  vanity, 
after  he  has  confessed  it  ?  Does  not  this  example 
show  us  plainly  that  worldly  goods  are  not  only  vain. 

*  1  Kings  x,  34.     }  Ihid.  x,  1.     i  Efclcs.  ii,  10.     §  Ibid,  v,  11. 


Ch.  XXIV.]      Their  Royal  Revenues.  163 

but  dangerous  ?  not  only  incapable  of  satisfying  the 
heart  of  man,  but  likely  to  corrupt  it  ?  What  reason 
have  we  to  flatter  ourselves  that  we  shall  make  better 
use  of  them  than  a  people  so  dear  to  God,  and  so 
well  instructed  in  their  duty  ?  and  who  seem  to  have 
had  a  better  right  to  this  sort  of  happiness,  since  it 
was  proposed  to  them  as  a  reward.  What  presump- 
tion would  it  be  to  think  ourselves  more  capable  of 
resisting  pleasures  than  the  wise  Solomon  ? .  He  gave 
himself  up  so  much  to  the  love  of  women,  that  he 
had  a  thousand  of  them,  though  a  multiplicity  was 
absolutely  forbidden  by  the  law  of  God  ;*  and  his 
complaisance  to  them  carried  him  even  to  idolatry. 
His  subjects  followed  his  bad  example  ;  and  after  his 
reign  the  manners  of  the  Israelites  grew  worse  and 
worse :  they  had  attained  their  highest  pitch  of 
earthly  felicity,  and  now  began  to  decline. 

The  division  of  the  two  kingdoms  of  Israel  and 
Judah' still  augmented  the  evil.  The  corruption  was 
much  the  greatest  in  Israel,  where  idolatry  always 
prevailed,  which  is  the  fountain  of  all  sorts  of  wick- 
edness :  rebellion  and  treason  were  common  there. f 
In  Judah  the  crown  never  went  out  of  the  family  of 
David  :  there  were  several  pious  kings  in  it.  The 
priests  and  Levites,  who  retired  thither,  preserved 
the  tradition  of  the  true  religion,  and  a  more  pure 
practice  of  the  law. 

In  these  latter  times,  the  law  being  despised,  they 
had  frequent  intercourse  with  strangers,  chiefly  to 
procure  succours  in  war :  and  this  is  the  reason  of 
their  being  so  frequently  reproached  by  the  prophets 
with  their  want  of  trust  in  God.  The  strangers, 
whose  alliance  they  courted  most,  were  the  Assyrians 
and  Egyptians,  the  two  most  powerful  nations  of 
those  times.  To  please  them  they  imitated  their 
customs  and  idolatry  :  and  the  ruin  of  the  Israelites 
followed  the  fortune  of  these  nations  when  Egypt 
frll  and  Assyria  got  the  superiority. 

*  Dent,  xvii,  17.     f  Wisd.  xiv;  -27. 


164  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          Part  III.] 

PART  III. 

CHAPTER  I. 

The  Jews. — Their  Captivity. 

WHAT  has  already  been  noted  appeared  to  me  the 
most  remarkable  in  the  manners  of  the  Israelites, 
whilst  they  lived  at  full  liberty  in  their  own  country, 
without  mixing  with  strangers,  or  being  subject  to 
infidels.  Let  us  now  take  a  view  of  their  last  state, 
from  the  Babylonish  captivity  to  their  entire  disper- 
sion. Though  they  were  still  the  same  people,  and 
their  manners  the  same  in  the  main,  there  was  how- 
ever a  great  alteration  in  both. 

First,  they  are  called  only  Jews  in  these  later  times, 
because,  in  reality,  there  was  no  kingdom  but  that  of 
Judah  subsisting.  Samaria  had  been  destroyed,  and 
Salmanasar  had  taken  the  ten  tribes  captive,  which 
bore  the  name  of  Israel  above  a  hundred  years  before 
the  ruin  of  Jerusalem.  And  though  the  kingdom  of 
Judah  comprehended  the  two  whole  tribes  of  Ben- 
jamin and  Levi,  and  many  particular  persons  of  all 
the  rest,  whom  a  religious  zeal  had  brought  thither 
after  Jeroboam's  schism  ;  all  was  confounded  in  the 
name  of  Judea  and  Jews,  and  so  they  were  usually 
called  before  the  captivity.* 

As  the  kingdom  manifestly  tended  to  its  ruin  after 
the  death  of  Josiah,  great  numbers  of  Jews  were  dis- 
persed on  all  sides,  and  retired  to  the  Ammonites, 
Moabites,  Idumeans,  and  other  neighbouring  people. f 
The  Chaldeans  carried  away  captive  the  most  con- 
siderable of  those  who  dwelt  at  Jerusalem,  when  it 
was  taken,  and  left  none  but  the  poorer  sort  to  till  the 
ground  :  this  remnant  too  went  into  Egypt  a  little 
while  after.  :£ 

As  to  those  that  were  carried  to  Babylon,  they 
were  servants  to  the  king  and  his  sons,  as  the  Scrip- 
*  2  Kings  xvi,  6.  t  -far.  xli,  10-  t  Jer.  xfiiv  1-7. 


Oh.  I.]  Their  Captivities.  165 

ture  tells  us  :  for  such  was  the  law  of  war  at  that 
time.*  All  that  were  taken  in  arms,  all  the  inhabit- 
ants of  a  town  carried  by  storm,  or  surrendered  at 
discretion,  and  of  the  adjacent  country  which  de- 
pended upon  it,  were  slaves  to  the  conquerors. 
They  were  either  the  property  of  the  public,  or  that 
particular  person  that  had  taken  them,  according  to 
the  laws  concerning  the  acquisition  or  division  of 
spoil  then  subsisting  in  each  country.  Thus,  at  the 
taking  of  Troy,  all  that  remained  alive  were  made 
slaves,  not  excepting  queen  Hecuba,  and  the  prin- 
cesses her  daughters. 

The  Greek  and  Roman  history  are  full  of  such  ex- 
amples ;  the  Romans  loaded  those  kings  with  chains 
that  resisted  obstinately  ;  or  put  them  to  death  after 
they  had  made  them  appear  at  their  triumph.  They 
sold  the  common  people  by  auction,  and  divided  their 
lands  among  their  own  citizens,  whom  they  sent  to 
establish  colonies  there  :  which  was  the  certain  way 
to  secure  their  conquests.  Neither  the  Jews  nor  Is- 
raelites were  so  hardly  used  by  the  Assyrians.  Some 
had  great  liberty  allowed  them,  as  Tobit  by  king  Ene- 
messar ;  and  there  were  some  rich  among  them,  as 
Tobit  himself,  his  kinsman  Raguel,  and  his  friend 
Gabael  ;f  and  at  Babylon  Joachim,  Susanna's  hus- 
band.! It  appears  likewise  by  the  story  of  Susanna, 
that  the  Jews,  notwithstanding  their  captivity,  had 
the  exercise  of  their  laws,  and  the  power  to  appoint 
judges  of  life  and  death. 

However,  it  was  impossible  but  this  mingling  with 
strangers  should  cause  some  change  in  their  man- 
ners, since  one  of  their  chief  maxims  was  to  separate 
themselves  from  all  other  nations.  Many  were  pre- 
vailed upon  to  worship  idols,  eat  forbidden  food,  and 
marry  wives  from  among  strangers,  and  all  conform- 
ed to  their  masters  in  things  indifferent,  one  of  which 
was  their  language.  Thus,  during  the  seventy  years 
that  the  captivity  lasted,  they  forgot  Hebrew,  and 
'  Chron.  xxxvi,^0.  t  Tob.  i,  14.  i  Hist,  of  Susanna. 


166  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  III. 

none  but  the  learned  understood  it,  as  it  is  now  with 
the  Latin  among  us.  Their  vulgar  tongue  was  the 
Syriac  or  Chaldee,  such  as  that  in  which  a  large 
portion  of  Daniel  and  Ezra  are  written,  and  the  Tar- 
gums  or  paraphrases  upon  Scripture  that  were  com- 
posed afterwards,  that  the  people  might  understand 
it.  They  changed  their  letters  too,  and  instead  of 
the  old  ones,  which  the  Samaritans  have  preserved, 
took  the  Chaldean,  which  we  erroneously  call  the 
Hebrew. 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  return  of  the  Jeios,  and  their  state  under  the 
Persians. 

WHEN  Cyrus  gave  them  their  liberty,  with  leave 
to  go  back  into  Judea  and  rebuild  the  temple,  they 
did  not  all  return,  nor  at  one  time.  There  was  a 
great  number  that  stayed  at  Babylon,  and  in  all  places 
where  they  were  settled  :  and  they  that  came  back 
were  not  all  Jews  :  some  few  of  the  ten  tribes  joined 
themselves  to  them,  and  yet  they  made  but  a  small 
number  altogether.  The  first,  that  Zerubbabel  con- 
ducted, did  not  amount  to  fifty  thousand,  with  the 
servants  that  attended  them  :*  and  one  may  see  their 
poverty  by  the  small  number  of  their  servants  and 
cattle.  What  comparison  is  there  betwixt  fifty  thou- 
sand souls,  and  what  there  must  have  been  in  the 
time  of  Jehoshaphat  to  make  up  twelve  hundred 
thousand  fighting  men  ?  There  came  besides  with 
Ezra  about  fifteen  hundred,!  and  we  may  suppose 
there  were  several  other  companies.  « 

They  did  what  they  could  to  discover  their  for- 
mer inheritances,  and  preserve  each  family's  share. 
Upon  this  account  Ezra  collected  all  the  genealo- 

*  The  whole  number  was  as  follows  :  the  people,  42360  ;  male  and 
female  servants,  7337  ;  male  and  female  singers,  200  ;  horses,  736  : 
mules,  245  ;  camels,  435 ;  asses,  6720.  Ezra  ii,  64—67, 

f  Ezra  viii,  1—14. 


Ch.  II.]         After  their  return  from  Captivity.         167 

gies  that  are  at  the  beginning  of  the  Chronicles, 
where  he  chiefly  enlarges  upon  the  three  tribes  of 
Judah,  Levi,  and  Benjamin;  and  carefully  sets  down 
their  habitations.  To  people  Jerusalem,  they  re- 
ceived all  that  would  come  and  settle  there,  which 
confounded,  no  doubt,  the  order  of  their  shares.* 
Besides,  it  was  just,  that  such  as  were  present  should 
take  possession  of  their  lands  who  had  no  mind  to 
return,  or  perhaps  were  not  in  being.  So,  in  the 
later  times,  Joseph  dwelt  at  Nazareth  in  Galilee, 
though  his  family  was  originally  of  Bethlehem  :  and 
Anna  the  prophetess  lived  at  Jerusalem.  But  still 
they  knew  what  tribe  they  were  of,  and  carefully  pre- 
served their  genealogies,  as  we  see  by  Joseph's,  who 
was  only  a  poor  artificer.  They  likewise  carefully 
distinguished  the  true  Israelites  from  strangers  that 
had  been  admitted  into  their  society, f  whom  they 
called  geiores  in  their  own  tongue,  and  proselytes  in 
Greek.* 

Thus  one  of  their  first  concerns,  after  their  resto- 
ration, was  to  separate  themselves  .from  strangers, 
and  to  cause  the  prohibitions  of  the  law,  relating  to 
marriages  with  infidels,  to  be  observed  :§  which  they 
extended  to  nations  not  specified  in  the  law  ;  namely, 
to  the  people  of  Azotus,  who  were  part  of  the  Phi- 
listines ;  to  the  Egyptians,  Ammonites,  and  Moabites. 
The  evils  that  the  Jews  were  sensible  they  had  re- 
ceived from  these  marriages,  since  the  bad  example 
of  Solomon,  inclined  the  wi  >e  men  to  interpret  the 
law  in  this  sense,  and  extend  it  rather  beyond  the 

*  Neheim  xi,  3. 

t  Two  softs  of  men  joined  themselves  to  the  Israelites  when  they 
went  out  of  Egypt :  one  sort  were  native  Egyptians,  called  by  the 
Scptuagint  au^T^Oovfj,  those  born  in  the  land;  the  othejs  were  a  mixed 
multitude,  who  are  termed  by  the  Scptuagint  y«wpa<y,  Exod.  xii,  19, 
from  ij  gwr,  a  stranger.  These  were  extraneous  persons  among  the 
Egyptians,  who  took  the  land  to  till  at  a  certain  rent :  such  were  the 
Jews  before  they  went  up  out  of  Egypt.  Both  these  sorts  of  men  the 
Scripture  comprehends  under  the  denomination  of  a  mixed  mnllituc'c. 
Exod.  xiii,  38.  See  Valesius's  Notes  on  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccles.  lib.  i,  c.  7. 

E.  F.  &  A.  C. 

{  African,  apud.  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccles.  lib.  i,  c.  7.     §  Ezra  ix,  1,  &e. 


168  Manners  of  the  Israelites.       [Part  III. 

import  of  the  letter,  that  they  might  more  effectually 
fulfil  the  intention  of  it.  The  priests  were  most  strict 
in  observing  these  prohibitions  :  they  married  none 
but  women  of  their  own  tribe,  and  Josephus  has  in- 
formed us  of  the  precautions  used  about  it  even  in 
his  time.*  In  general  the  Jews  were  never  so  faith- 
ful to  God ;  and,  after  they  returned  from  captivity, 
we  never  hear  idolatry  once  mentioned  among  them  : 
so  much  were  they  struck  with  that  severe  punish- 
ment, and  the  accomplishment  of  the  prophecies  that 
threatened  them  with  it.  Indeed,  apostates  were  en- 
tirely at  liberty  to  stay  among  the  infidels,  so  that 
there  appeared  none  but  such  as  were  really  Jews. 

Under  the  first  kings  of  Persia  they  were  still  very 
weak,  envied  by  the  strangers  their  neighbours,  espe- 
cially the  Samaritans,  exposed  to  their  insults  and 
calumnies,  and  in  danger  of  having  their  throats  cut 
upon  the  least  signification  of  the  king's  pleasure  ;  as 
we  see  by  the  cruel  edict  that  Haman  obtained  against 
them,  from  the  effects  of  which  they  were  saved  by 
queen  Esther. f  They  could  not  finish  the  rebuild- 
ing of  the  temple  till  twenty  years  after  their  first 
coming  back,  nor  raise  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  again 
under  sixty  years  more  :  so  they  were  fourscore 
years  in  renewing  the  whole.  The  country  must 
have  been  very  poor,  since  Herodotus,  who  lived  at 
that  time,  comprehends  Syria,  Phoenicia,  Palestine, 
and  the  Isle  of  Cyprus,  under  one  single  government, 
that  paid  Darius  but  three  hundred  and  fifty  talents 
tribute,}:  which  was  no  more  than  was  paid  by  one 
of  the  least  provinces  ;  whereas  that  of  Babylon  alone 
paid  a  thousand.  This  revenue  was  doubled  in  the 
time  of  the  Romans  for  Palestine  alone  :»it  brought 
in  to  Herod  and  his  sons  seven  hundred  and  sixty 
talents,  which,  to  compute  by  the  smaller  talent, 
amount  to  about  sixty-eight  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  sterling.  § 

*  Cont.  App.  1.  i,  c.  7.  p.  978.     Whiston's  Edition, 
•f  Esther  iii,  iv,  v.     {  Herod,  lib.  iii,  p.  22G. 
§  Joseph.  Bell.  Jud.  1.  ii,  c.  6,  p.  766. 


(Jh.  II.]  Under  the  Persians.  169 

By  little  and  little  the  Jews  were  established  again, 
and  during  the  reign  of  the  Persians  they  lived  under 
their  own  laws,  in  the  form  of  a  commonwealth,  go- 
verned by  the  high  priest,  and  the  council  of  seventy- 
two  elders.  The  country  was  repeopled,  the  towns 
new  built,  and  the  lands  better  cultivated  than  ever. 
Plenty  was  seen  again,  and  there  was  such  a  profound 
peace  and  tranquillity,  that,  for  nearly  thre«  hundred 
years,  there  happened  no  commotions,  nor  any  thing 
that  makes  the  common  subject  of  histories  :  and 
thence  proceeds  that  great  void  that  we  find  between 
the  time  of  Nehemiah  and  the  Maccabees.  The 
temple  was  honoured  even  by  strangers,  who  visited 
it,  and  brought  offerings  thither.*  In  short,  the 
prosperity  of  the  Jews  was  so  great  after  their  return, 
that  the  prophets  in  foretelling  it,  have  left  us  the 
most  magnificent  types  of  the  Messiah's  reign,  f 

The  Greeks  began  then  to  be  acquainted  with  the 
Jews  in  Egypt  and  Syria,  whither  they  often  travel-* 
led ;  and  they  made  great  use  of  this  correspondence, 
if  we  may  believe  the  most  ancient  Christian  authors, 
as  Justin  Martyr  and  Clemens  of  Alexandria ;  for 
they  assure  us  that  the  Greek  poets,  lawgivers,  and 
philosophers,  learnt  the  best  part  of  their  doctrine 
from  the  Jews  Indeed  Solon  travelled  into  Egypt, 
and  the  laws  that  he  gave  to  the  Athenians  were  very 
like  those  of  Moses.  Pythagoras  had  been  long  in 
Egypt,  and  went  to  Babylon  in  the  time  of  Cambyses : 
he  had  therefore  seen  the  Jews,  and  might  have  con- 
versed with  them.  Plato  studied  many  years  in 
Egypt,  and  makes  Socrates  speak  so  many  excellent 
things,  founded  upon  the  principles  taught  by  Moses, 
that  he  may  justly  be  supposed  to  have  known  some- 
thing of  them. 

The  best  things  which  Plato  teaches  in  his  laws 
and  commonwealth,  the  Jews  really  practised ;  as 

*  Philo.  leg. 

t  Several  prophecies  relative  to  this  time  of  peace  and  prosperity, 
have  been  applied  by  commentators  to  the  days  of  the  Messiah  «e-. 
ulusively.  This  should  be  carefully  avoided. 

15 


170  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  III. 

living  by  one's  own  industry,  without  luxury,  without 
ambition,  without  having  it  in  our  power  to  undo 
ourselves  or  grow  too  rich,  esteeming  justice  the 
greatest  of  all  blessings,  and  avoiding  all  novelty  and 
change.  In  the  persons  of  Moses,  David,  and  Solo- 
mon, we  discover  examples  of  the  wise  man  whom 
he  wished  for  to  govern  a  state  and  make  it  happy, 
which  he  scarcely  hoped  would  ever  come  to  pass. 
He  mentions  certain  traditions  of  venerable  antiquity 
in  several  places,  without  supporting  them  with  any 
proof,  relating  to  the  judgment  of  mankind  after 
death,  and  the  state  of  the  other  life,  which  are 
manifestly  doctrines  of  the  true  religion.*  If  Plato 
and  the  other  Greeks  had  not  learnt  these  truths 
immediately  from  the  Jews,  they  had  them  at  least 
from  other  people  of  the  east,  who  being  nearer  the 
origin  of  mankind,  and  having  writings  more  ancient 
than  the  Greeks,  had  preserved  many  more  tradi- 
tions of  the  first  men,  though  obscured  and  involved 
in  fables. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Slate  of  the  Jews  under  the  Macedonians. 
THE  conquests  of  Alexander  made  the  Jews  much 
better  known  to  the  Greeks,  to  whom  they  became 
subject.  Josephus  brings  proofs  of  it  from  the  tes- 
timony of  Clearchus,  a  disciple  of  Aristotle,  and 
Hecataeus  the  Abderite.f  They  continued  to  live 
according  to  their  own  laws,  under  the  protection  of 
the  Macedonian  kings,  as  they  had  done  under  the 
Persians  ;  but  as  their  country  lay  betwixt  Syria  and 
Egypt,  they  sometimes  obeyed  the  king  of  one  of 
those  nations,  and  sometimes  the  king  of  the  other, 
as  they  were  strongest ;  and  they  were  well  or  ill 
used  by  them  according  to  the  humour  or  interest 
of  their  kings,  or  the  credit  of  their  enemies.  Alex- 

*  Plato  de  Repufc.  vi,  et  x,  in  fine,     f  Joseph,  cont.  App.  i,  22,  9.3, 
if,  4. 


Ch.  III.]          Under  the  Macedonians.  171 

ander  the  Great,  being  convinced  of  their  affection 
and  fidelity,  gave  them  the  province  of  Samaria,  and 
exempted  it  from  tribute ;  and  when  he  built  Alexan- 
dria, settled  some  Jews  in  it,  granting  them  the  same 
privileges  as  the  other  citizens,  till  at  last  they  also 
were  called  Macedonians.*  Indeed,  the  first  of  the 
Ptolemies,  having  taken  Jerusalem  by  surprise,  car- 
ried great  numbers  of  the  Jews  captives  into  Egypt, 
who  were  spread  as  far  as  Cyrene.  But  afterwards 
finding  how  religious  they  were,  and  faithful  to  their 
oaths,  he  put  some  of  them  into  his  garrisons,  and 
treated  them  so  well,  that  it  drew  many  more  into 
that  country.f  It  is  said  that  his  son  Philadelphus 
redeemed  all  the  Jews  that  were  slaves  in  his  domi- 
nions, and  sent  great  presents  to  Jerusalem  to  pro- 
cure that  translation  which  he  got  made  of  their  law.  if: 

They  were  also  favoured  by  several  kings  of  Syria. 
Seleucus  Nicanor  gave  them  the  right  of  citizens  in 
the  cities  which  he  built  in  Asia  Minor  and  Ccelo- 
Syria,  and  even  in  Antioch  his  capital,  with  privileges 
that  they  also  enjoyed  under  the  Romans. §  Antio- 
chus  the  Great  having  received  signal  services  from 
the  Jews,  granted  considerable  favours  and  immu- 
nities to  the  city  of  Jerusalem  ;  and  to  secure  Lydia 
and  Phrygia,  which  were  not  quite  sound  in  their 
allegiance,  he  established  colonies  of  Jews  there, 
giving  them  lands  to  cultivate  and  build  on. 

The  first  privilege  that  the  Jews  always  asked  upon 
these  occasions  was  liberty  to  exercise  their  religion 
and  observe  their  law.  But  as  for  the  rest,  they 
could  not  avoid  learning  many  Grecian  customs,  as 
they  had  Chaldean  and  others,  and  particularly  the 
Greek  tongue,  which  was  then  become  common 
throughout  all  the  east,  and  continued  so  as  long  as 

*  Joseph.  Ant.  xii,  1,  et  cont.  App.  1.  ii,  c.  2.     t  Ibid-  Ant.  xii,  2. 

\  See  Aristeus's  Hist,  of  she  Septuagint.  Notwithstanding  the  tes- 
timony of  Josephus,  Aristaeus,  and  several  of  the  primitive  fathers,  the 
history  of  the  Greek  translation  of  the  Scriptures,  by  the  command  of 
Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  king  of  Egypt,  is  now  considered  either  &  fable, 
or  truth  so  disguised  as  to  be  no  longer  perceptible. 

§  Josrph.  Ant.  xii,  3. 


172  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  III, 

the  Roman  empire  lasted  there.  Thence  it  was  that 
many  took  Greek  names,  as  Aristobulus,  Philon, 
Andreas,  and  Philippus ;  or  Hebrew  names  disguised 
with  Greek  terminations,  as  Jason  for  Jesus,  Simon 
for  Simeon,  Hierosolyma  for  Jerusalem. 

It  was  probably  about  this  time  that  the  Jews 
passed  the  seas  and  settled  in  Europe.  For  they 
that  understood  the  Greek  tongue,  and  had  resided 
among  that  people  in  Asia,  Syria,  and  Egypt,  might 
easily  live  in  any  part  of  the  Grecian  empire,  even  in 
Macedonia  and  Achaia,  according  as  they  found  it 
more  convenient,  or  they  enjoyed  greater  liberty. 
Thus  St.  Paul  found  great  numbers  of  them  in  all  the 
cities  of  Greece  when  he  went  to  preach  the  gospel 
there,  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  the 
time  of  Antiochus  the  Great.  These  Jews  were 
half  Greeks,  whom  the  eastern  Jews  called  Hellen- 
ists ;  and  they  gave  the  Gentiles  the  name  of  Hel- 
lenes, which  properly  signifies  Greeks ;  whence  it 
comes  that  in  St.  Paul's  epistles  Greek  and  Gentile 
signify  the  same  thing.* 

The  Jews  could  not  be  so  mixed  with  the  Greeks, 
without  the  latter,  who  were  very  curious  at  that 
time,  getting  some  knowledge  of  their  religion  and 
laws,  especially  after  the  translation  of  the  sacred 
books.  Their  wise  men  and  true  philosophers  held 
them  in  great  esteem,  as  we  may  learn  by  what  Strabo 
wrote  about  them  long  after. f  All  admired  the  mag- 
nificence of  their  temple  an'd  exact  order  of  their 
ceremonies.  Agrippa  himself,  son-in-law  of  Augus- 
tus, was  astonished  at  it.  But  most  of  the  Greeks  at 
that  time,  I  mean  in  the  reign  of  the  Macedonians, 
were  not  capable  of  relishing  the  customs  and  max- 
ims of  the  Jews.  They  were  too  grave  for  the  people 
whom  the  Asiatic  luxury  had  made  effeminate,  and 
whose  sole  employment  was  in  trifles.^  There  were 
indeed  a  great  number  of  philosophers ;  but  most  of 

*  Rom.  i,  16,  ii,  10,  &c.     J  Strabc.  lib.  xvi. 
i  Ut  primum  positis  nugari  Graccia  bellis 
Cocpit,  &c.  Hor.  1.  ii,  ep.  i,  93 


Oh.  III.]          Under  the  Macedonians.  173 

them  contented  themselves  with  only  discoursing 
upon  virtue,  and  exercising  themselves  in  disputation. 
All  the  rest  of  the  Greeks  were  possessed  with  cu- 
riosity and  a  fondness  for  polite  literature :  some 
applied  themselves  to  rhetoric,  others  to  poetry  and 
music.  Painters,  sculptors,  and  architects,  were  in 
great  repute.  Others  spent  all  their  time  in  gym- 
nastic exercises,  to  form  their  bodies  and  make  them 
good  wrestlers.  Others  studied  geometry,  astronomy, 
and  natural  philosophy.  There  were  every  where 
virtuosi,  connoisseurs,  curious  and  idle  people  of 
all  sorts. 

The  manners  of  the  Romans  were  at  that  time  much 
more  solid.*  They  applied  themselves  to  nothing 
but  agriculture,  the  knowledge  of  the  laws  and  war, 
and  willingly  left  the  glory  of  excelling  in  curious 
arts  and  sciences  to  the  Greeks  ;  that  they  might 
have  the  more  time  to  extend  their  conquests,  and 
attend  the  government  of  their  subjects,  making  po- 
litics, as  Virgil  says,f  their  principal  concern.  The 
Jews  were  still  a  great  deal  more  serious,  as  they 
made  morality  and  the  service  of  God  their  chief 
study.  We  have  a  good  example  of  it  in  the  book 
of  Ecclesiasticus,  written  about  the  same  time.  Yel 
this  was  the  reason  that  the  Greeks  looked  upon 
them  as  an  ignorant  people,  seeing  they  would  learn 
nothing  but  their  own  law.  I  They  called  them  bar- 
barians, as  they  did  all  nations  that  were  not  Greeks, 
and  despised  them  more  than  any  other  strangers, 
upon  account  of  their  religion,  which  appeared  to' 
them  austere  and  absurd. §  They  saw  them  refrain 
from  debauchery,  not  out  of  frugality  and  policy,  but 
from  a  principle  of  conscience :  this  appeared  to  them 
too  strict,  and  they  were  particularly  offended  at  their 
sabbaths,  their  fasts,  and  distinction  of  meats.  They 

*  Romae  duke-  diu  fuit  ct  solenne  reclusa 

Mane  domo  vigilare,  &c.  Hor.  1.  ii,  ep.  i,  103. 

}  Excudent  alii  spirantia  mollius  aera,  &c.  JEneid.  vi,  347. 

t  Joseph,  cont.  App.  1.  i,  c.  4,  et  1.  ii,  c.  6.    Orig.  cont.  Ceh.  1.  iv 
$  Judseorum  mos  tristis  absurdusque.— Tatit.  hist,  v,  init. 

15* 


174  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  III 

accounted  them  enemies  to  all  mankind.  They  live 
separate  from  every  body  else,  says  a  Greek  philoso- 
pher, having  nothing  common  with  us,  neither  altar, 
offerings,  prayers,  nor  sacrifices.  They  are  at  a  greater 
distance  from  us  than  the  inhabitants  of  Susa,  JBactria, 
and  India.* 

We  may  add  to  this,  that  the  fear  of  idolatry  made 
the  Jews  reject  sculpture  and  painting,  (which  arts 
the  Greeks  held  in  much  esteem,)  as  useless,  ridi- 
culous pieces  of  workmanship,  and  the  fruits  of 
idleness  ;f  which  is  the  reason  that  idols  are  so  often 
called  vanity  in  Scripture,  to  show  that  they  are  vain 
things,  that  have  only  a  deceitful  outside,  and  serve 
to  no  manner  of  good  purpose  .J  They  are  also 
called  an  abomination,^  because  they  cannot  be  suf- 
ficiently detested,  when  we  consider  the  stupidity 
that  attributes  the  incommunicable  name  of  God  to 
them.  For  the  same  reason  the  Jews  could  not  heav 
without  horror  the  impious  fables  with  which  the 
Greek  poets  were  filled.  Thus  they  drew  upon 
themselves  the  hatred  of  the  grammarians,  whose 
profession  it  was  to  explain  them  ;  and  of  the  rhap- 
sodists,  who  made  a  trade  of  singing  their  heroic 
poems  in  public  ;  and  of  the  actors  of  tragedies  and 
comedies,  and  of  all  others,  whose  livelihood  de- 
pended upon  poetry  and  false  theology. 

The  Jews  indeed  made  it  a  rule  not  to  laugh  at 
other  nations,  nor  to  say  any  thing  disrespectful  of 
their  gods;||  but  it  was  scarce  possible  that  some 
word  of  contempt  should  not  escape  from  them. 
Now  how  angry  must  a  Greek  grammarian  have 
been,  if  he  had  heard  a  Jew  repeat  a  passage  out  of 
the  prophets  against  idols ;  if  he  had  heard  him  assert 
that  Homer  was  a  false  prophet  and  impostor,  or 
ridicule  the  absurdities  that  occur  in  the  genealogies, 
the  amours  and  crimes  of  their  gods  ?  How  could 
they  bear  any  one's  showing  an  abhorrence  to  the 
scandalous  impurities  of  the  theatre,  and  the  abomi- 

*  Philostr.  vit.  Apol.  lib.  v.  c.  1 1.  f  Orig.  cont.  Cels.  1.  iv.  +  Isaiah 
*1iv3  1C[.  Jer.  x,  15.  §  Wisdom  xiii,  13—19,  ||  Joseph,  cont.  Apg. 


Ch.  III.]      Martyrdom  of  several  Jews.  175 

uable  ceremonies  of  Bacchus  and  Ceres  :  in  a  word, 
to  hear  him  maintain  that  the  God  of  the  Jews  was 
the  only  true  God,  and  that  they  only,  of  all  the  people 
upon  earth,  were  in  possession  of  the  true  religion 
and  morality  ?  They  despised  them  the  more  for- 
not  knowing  how  to  make  learned  harangues,  or 
dispute  in  form ;  and  because,  for  a  proof  of  these 
great  truths,  they  chiefly  alleged  facts,  that  is  to  say, 
the  great  miracles  that  God  had  wrought  in  the 
sight  of  their  fathers.  Now  the  common  people 
among  the  Greeks  did  not  make  any  distinction  be- 
twixt those  miracles  and  the  prodigies  which  they 
also  related  in  their  fables ;  and  philosophers  thought 
them  impossible,  because  they  only  reasoned  from 
the  laws  of  nature,  which  they  held  to  be  absolutely 
fixed  and  unalterable.* 

This  being  the  disposition  of  the  Greeks,  they  lis- 
tened the  more  eagerly  to  the  calumnies  of  the  Phoe- 
nicians, Egyptians,  and  other  enemies  of  the  Jews. 
And  thence  proceeded  those  impertinent  stories  that 
Tacitus  tells  us  so  gravely,  f  when  he  is  explaning 
the  origin  of  the  Jews,  and  has  a  mind  to  act  the 
learned  historian  ;  and  which  are  to  be  met  with 
likewise  in  Justin,  who  had  had  the  same  informa- 
tion. |  Strabo  does  not  seem  to  know  much  more  of 
the  matter,  though  he  treats  it  more  sensibly. § 

But  besides  these  slanders,  which  might  easily 
have  been  overlooked,  the  Greeks  proceeded  to  vio- 
lence and  persecution.  Thus  Ptolemy  Philopater, 
after  he  had  lost  the  battle  of  Raphia,  discharged 
his  wrath  upon  the  Jews :  and  his  son  Epiphanes, 
being  provoked  at  their  not  letting  him  go  into  the 
sanctuary,  would  have  them  exposed  to  elephants, 
as  it  is  related  in  the  Maccabees.  Under  Seleucus 
Philopater,  king  of  Syria,  Heliodorus  came  to  plun- 
der the  sacred  treasure,  and  nothing  but  a  miracle 
prevented  t  his  doing  it.||  At  last,  under  Antiochus 
Epiphanes  began  the  greatest  persecution  they  ever 

*  Galen  de  usu  Partium.  fHist.1.  v,init.  tJustini  Hist.  lib.  XXXVT, 
c.2,3.  §Lib.xri.  ||  2  Mace,  in,  7,  &c. 


1 76  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  I II , 

suffered,  and  which  is  not  inferior  to  any  that  tht 
Christians  have  endured  since.*  Those  who  died 
at  that  time  for  the  law  of  God  have  been  ordinarily 
classed  among  the  martyrs. 

They  are  the  first  we  know  of  who  laid  down  their 
lives  in  that  good  cause.  The  three  companions  of 
Daniel,  when  they  were  cast  into  the  furnace,  f  and 
lie  himself,  by  being  exposed  to  the  lions,  had  all  the 
merit  of  martyrdom  ;  but  God  wrought  miracles  to 
preserve  them.  Eleazar,  the  seven  brethren,  and  the 
rest  that  are  mentioned  in  the  history  of  the  Macca- 
bees,^: really  gave  up  their  lives  for  the  sake  of  God 
and  the  law  of  their  fathers,  which  is  the  first  exam- 
ple, that  I  know,  of  this  kind  of  virtue,  in  the  whole 
history  of  the  world.  We  see  no  infidel,  not  even 
one  of  the  philosophers,  who  chose  to  suffer  death, 
and  the  most  cruel  punishment,  rather  than  violate 
his  religion,  or  the  laws  of  his  country. 

Josephus  boldly  reproaches  the  Gentiles  with  it  : 
Many  captives,  says  he,  of  our  nation  have  suffered  all 
sorts  of  torment  and  death  in  the  theatres,  and  upon 
divers  occasions,  rather  than  speak  the  least  word  against 
the  laic,  and  the  other  scriptures  :  but  where  is  the  Greek 
that  would  not  let  all  the  books  of  his  nation  be  burnt 
rather  than  suffer  any  harm  himself  ?§ 

Indeed,  some  Jews  were  overcome  by  persecution  : 
but  then  they  entirely  renounced  their  religion  and 
laws,  and  used  artifice  to  disguise  their  circumcision  : 
so  that  they  were  no  longer  accounted  Jews.  And 
such  as  continued  faithful  were  so  zealous  for  their 
law  and  liberty,  that,  at  last  they  took  up  arms  to 
defend  themselves  against  the  Syrian  kings.  These 
princes  openly  violated  all  the  privileges  that  had  been 
granted  to  the  Jews  by  the  kings  of  Persia,  and  con- 
firmed by  Alexander  and  the  other  Macedonian  kings  ; 
and  seemed  determined  to  abolish  the  true  religion, 
which  was  still  at  that  time  confined  to  a  particular 
people  and  country. 

*  1  Mace,  i,  &c.      f  Dan.  iii?  21.      }  2  Mace.  TI,  13,  and  c.  vli 
$  Contra  App.  lib:  i, 


Ch.  IV.]  Under  the  Asmoneans.  Ill 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  reign  of  the  Jlsmoneans. 

WE  are  now  come  to  the  time  of  the  Maccabees, 
when  the  Jewish  nation  raised  itself  up  again,  and 
shone  with  a  new  lustre.  They  were  no  longer  a 
poor  people,  that  aspired  no  higher  than  to  live  in 
peace,  under  the  conduct  of  their  high  priest  and 
elders  ;  whose  happiness  only  consisted  in  being  at 
liberty  to  cultivate  their  lands,  and  serve  God  in  their 
own  way.  They  became  a  state  entirely  independ- 
ent, supported  by  good  troops,  strong  garrisons,  and 
alliances,  not  only  with  their  neighbouring  princes,  but 
with  remote  kingdoms,  even  Rome  itself.  *  The  kings 
of  Egypt  and  Syria,  who  had  used  them  so  ill,  were 
forced  afterwards  to  court  their  friendship.  They 
also  made  conquests :  John  Hyrcanus  took  Sichem 
and  Gerizim,  and  destroyed  the  temple  of  the  Sama- 
ritans ;f  so  absolute  was  he  over  all  the  land  of  Israel. 
He  extended  his  dominions  into  Syria,  where  he  con- 
quered several  towns,  after  the  death  of  Antiochus 
Sidetes  ;  and  into  Idumea,  which  he  so  entirely  sub- 
dued, that  he  obliged  the  inhabitants  to  be  circumci- 
sed and  observe  the  law  of  Moses,  as  being  incorpo- 
rated into  the  nation  of  the  Jews.  His  son  Aristo- 
bulus  added  the  ensigns  of  royalty  to  the  real  power, 
taking  the  diadem  and  title  of  king  :|  and  Alexander 
Jannaeus  made  still  greater  conquests. 

But  this  glory  of  the  Jews  was  of  short  continu- 
ance :  for,  though  the  weakening  the  kingdoms  oi 
Egypt  and  Syria  had  served  to  exalt  them,  the  entire 
ruin  of  those  two  kingdoms  brought  on  theirs  too,  by 
the  vast  addition  it  made  to  the  Roman  power.  In- 
deed, the  beginning  of  their  decay  was  occasioned 
by  their  domestic  quarrels,  and  the  continual  misun- 
derstandings betwixt  the  two  sons  of  Alexander  Jan- 
naeus, Hyrcanus,  and  Aristobulus.  In  short,  they  had 

*  1  Mace,  xiv,  4,  18.  t  Joseph.  Ant.  xiii,  17.  1  Joseph.  Ant.  xiii, 
e.  20,  21,  22. 


178  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  III. 

enjoyed  their  liberty  but  fourscore  years,  since  Simon 
had  been  declared  head  of  the  nation,  after  casting 
off  the  Grecian  yoke,  till  Pompey,  invited  by  Hyrca- 
nus,  took  Jerusalem,  entered  into  the  temple,  and 
made  the  Jews  tributaries. 

After  that  they  were  in  a  miserable  condition  for 
above  twenty  years  :  divided  by  the  parties  of  the 
two  brothers,  and  plundered  by  the  Romans,*  who 
took  from  them,  at  different  times,  above  ten  thou- 
sand talents,  which  is  about  one  million,  eight  hundred 
and  thirty-three  thousand,  three  hundred  and  fifty  pounds 
sterling.  After  the  defeat  of  Brutus  and  Cassius,  the 
Parthians,  taking  advantage  of  Marc  Antony's  weak- 
ness, who  was  governor  of  the  east,  made  themselves 
masters  of  Syria  and  Palestine,  and  took  Hyrcanus 
captive. 

During  all  the  time  of  the  Roman  civil  wars,  and 
whilst  the  Parthians  had  the  better  of  them,  Palestine 
was  exposed  to  cruel  ravages  by  so  many  armies  ol 
different  nations  passing  through  it,  and  by  the  in- 
cursions of  neighbouring  people,  particularly  the 
Arabians. 

It  is  true,  it  recovered  again  a  little  under  Herod  :| 
he  brought  back  peace  and  plenty  to  it :  he  was  pow- 
erful, rich,  and  lived  in  great  state.  But  it  cannot  be 
said  the  Jews  were  free  in  his  time.  He  was  not  so 
himself,  and  depended  entirely  upon  the  Roman  em- 
perors. He  was  a  foreigner,  by  birth  an  Idumean, 
had  no  religion,  and  only  kept  up  the  appearance  ol 
it  to  serve  political  purposes.  He  destroyed  the  suc- 
cession of  the  high  priests,  sending  for  one  Hananiel 
from  Babylon,  a  despicable  man,  though  of  the  sacer- 
dotal family  ;|  after  whom  they  had  no  high  priests 
but  such,  and  as  many  as  the  kings  pleased. 

When  Herod  was  dead  there  was  no  longer  any 
power  in  Judea.  His  sons  only  kept  part  of  his 
kingdom,  and  that  not  long.  Judea  had  Roman 
governors,  depending  upon  the  pro-consul  of  Syria. 
At  last  the  Jews  were  banished  out  of  it,  and  reduced 

*  Joseph.  Ant.  xiv,  8,  12.     t  Ibid,  xv,     f  Joseph.  Ant.  xv,  c.  2, 


Ch.  V.]  Of  the  modern  Jews.  179 

to  their  present  condition.  This  therefore  is  the  last 
time  that  any  account  is  to  be  mttde  of  them  as  a 
nation,  from  their  liberty  under  Simon  and  the  Asmo- 
neans  till  their  destruction  under  Vespasian.  It  is  a 
period  of  about  two  hundred  years,  taking  in  most 
part  of  the  history  of  the  Maccabees,  and  all  that  of 
the  New  Testament,  during  which  time  the  manners 
of  the  Jews  were  very  different  from  what  they  were, 
before. 


CHAPTER   V* 

The  Manners  of  the  Jews  of  later  Times. 

THESE  later  Jews  were  mingled  with  many  nations 
There  were  some  of  them  settled  *  in  every  country 
under  heaven,'*  as  the  Scripture  says.  Many  came 
to  dwell  in  Judea,  or  at  least  made  some  journeys  of 
devotion  thither,  to  sacrifice  in  the  only  temple  where 
it  was  lawful  to  do  so.  Besides,  there  were  always 
from  time  to  time  some  Gentiles  who  were  made 
converts.  Thus  the  Jews  were,  properly  speaking, 
no  longer  a  people  by  themselves,  using  the  same 
language  and  customs,  for  many  others  began  to  unite 
under  the  same  religion.  The  inhabitants  of  the  Holy 
Land  consisted  of  different  nations,  as  Idumeans,  and 
other  Arabians,  Egyptians,  Syrians,  and  Greeks. 

All  the  Jews  still  looked  upon  themselves  as  bre- 
thren, and  assisted  each  other  in  whatever  part  of  the 
world  they  were  dispersed.  They  exercised  hospi- 
tality towards  such  as  travelled ;  and  relieved  the  poor 
in  all  provinces,  but  especially  in  Judea.  As  they 
that  were  at  a  distance  could  not  pay  their  tenths  and 
firstfruits  in  kind,  nor  come  to  the  temple  to  make 
their  offerings  upon  all  festivals,  they  turned  all  these 
dues  into  money,  and  these  contributions  altogether 
made  up  a  considerable  sum  ;f  which  es&h  province 
sent  annually  to'  Jerusalem  for  the  expense  of  sacri- 

*  A"ts  ii,  5.     f  Joseph..  Ant.  xiv,  12. 


180  Manners  of  the  Israelites.        [Part  III. 

fices  and  maintaining  the  priests  and  poor.  This  is 
the  Jewish  gold  that  Tully  speaks  of.* 

These  collections  continued  many  years  after  the 
destruction  of  the  temple .  f  The  chief  of  the  nation 
sent  out  senators  at  certain  times,  who  commonly 
resided  near  him,  and  were  called  apostles,  that  is  to 
say,  envoys.  They  went  through  the  provinces  to 
visit  the  synagogues,  and  had  authority  over  such  as 
presided  there,  and  over  the  elders  and  ministers,  and 
at  the  same  time  carried  back  the  collections  to  the 
patriarch.  But  the  Christian  emperors  forbad  the 
continuance  of  it.:}:  The  patriarchs  came  to  this 
dignity  by  succession ;  so  that  they  were  often  in- 
fants^ But  before  Jerusalem  was  destroyed,  some 
of  the  heads  of  their  nation  resided  in  every  province, 
who  were  called  in  Greek  cthnarchs,  and  judged  them 
by  their  own  law.  Those  of  Egypt  are  famous, 
among  others. 

In  Judea  the  Jews  were  governed,  as  before,  by  a 
council  of  seventy-two  elders,  which  they  called  san- 
hedrim, from  a  Greek  word  corrupted  ;||  and  these 
are  the  elders  of  the  people  mentioned  in  the  gospel.** 
In  every  synagogue  there  was  a  head  or  ruler  of  it, 
as  we  see  in  the  New  Testament. ft  There  were 
priests  or  elders,  and  deacons  or  servants,  named 
Hazanin,  to  take  care  of  the  synagogue,  and  present 
the  book  to  the  doctor  who  instructed  them.  There 
were  also  twenty-three  judges  in  each  city,  as  has 
been  said  before.  For  it  is  to  this  time  chiefly,  that 
all  which  the  Talmud  says  concerning  the  form  of 
judgments  and  the  execution  of  justice,  must  be  re- 
ferred. |J 

The  Jews  of  Judea  always  applied  themselves  to 
tillage,  breeding  of  cattle,  and  all  kinds  of  husbandry. 
There  are  some  medals  still  remaining,  as  old  as  the 

*  Pro  Flacco.  f  Epiph.  haer.  xxx,  n.  4,  7,  11.  •  J  Lib.  iv,  Cod.  de 
.Tudaeis.  §  Hjfr.  in  Isaiah  iii,  4. 

||  Epiph.  ]pr.  xxx,  n.  1.  plinJD  sanhedrin,  from  the  Greek 
Suvtfyiov ;  frdm  <rw  together,  and  Ufa  a  seat,  an  assembly  of  coun- 
sellors. 

<*  Lufce  xxii,  66,  &c.     ft  Bake  viii,  41.     J|  Cod.  Sanhed.  Maccoth. 


Ch.  V.]  Of  the  modern  Jews.  181 

times  of  the  Maccabees,  upon  which  are  to  be  seen 
ears  of  corn  and  measures,*  to  show  the  fertility  of 
the  country,  and  the  honour  in  which  they  held  agri- 
culture. Thus  the  Apocrypha  describes  to  us  the 
prosperity  of  Simon's  government :  Then  did  they  till 
their  ground  in  peace,  and  the  earth  gave  her  increase, 
and  the  trees  of  the  field  their  fruit :  the  ancient  men  sat 
all  in  the  streets  consulting  together  for  the  good  of  the 
country,  and  the  young  men  put  on  glorious  and  warlike 
apparel.  He  provided  victuals  for  the  cities,  and  sent 
them  in  all  manner  of  munition,  so  that  his  honourable 
name  was  renowned  unto  the  end  of  the  world.  He 
made  peace  in  the  land,  and  Israel  rejoiced  with  great 
joy.  For  every  man  sat  under  his  vine  and  his  fig-tree, 
and  there  was  none  to  disquiet  them.~\  And  the  author 
of  Ecclesiasticus  has  not  omitted  taking  notice  of 
this  duty.  Hate  not  laborious  work,  neither  husbandry, 
says  he,  which  the  Most  High  has  ordained.  | 

There  are  some  remains  of  old  customs  in  every 
nation  :  there  were  still  at  that  time  husbandmen  of 
good  families  in  Italy  and  Sicily,  and  there  will 
always  be  hunters  in  Germany. 

Most  of  the  parables  in  the  gospel  are  taken  from 
a  country  life :  the  sower,  the  good  seed,  the  tares,  the 
vineyard,  the  good  tree,  the  bad  tree,  the  strayed  sheep, 
the  good  shepherd ;  and  all  this  often  spoken  in  cities, 
and  in  Jerusalem  itself.  Indeed,  many  parables  show 
us  that  trading  with  money  was  common  among  the 
Jews,  and  that  there  were  bankers  and  usurers  by 
profession.  Many  were  publicans,  that  is,  farmers 
of  the  tribute  and  revenues  :  but  this  was  an  office 
that  drew  upon  them  the  public  hatred.  Joseph  the 
son  of  Tobit  is  a  notorious  example,  who  got  all  the 
tribute  of  Syria  and  Phoenicia  awarded  to  him  under 
Ptolemy  Epiphanes,  and  acquired  immense  riches 
by  it.§ 

If  there  were  bankers  and  tax-gatherers  among 
tht  Jews,  there  is  more  reason  to  think  there  were 

*  Vales,  in  Euseb.  vii,  10.  Palad.  Vtta  Chrysost.  f  1  Mace,  xiv, 
S>  &c.  t  Ecclus.  vii,  15.  §  Joseph.  Ant.  xii,  4. 

16 


182  Manners  of  the  Israelites.        [Part  III. 

wholesale  and  retail  merchants ;  both  which  are 
mentioned  by  the  author  of  Ecclesiasticus,  where  he 
says  he  looked  upon  them  as  dangerous  trades  :  Jl 
merchant  can  hardly  keep  himself  from  doing  wrong,  and 
a  huckster  shall  not  be  freed  from  sin.*  He  goes  to 
the  source  of  the  evil,  and  adds,  That  the  desire  of 
riches  blindeth  men,  and  makes  them  fall  into  sin;  and 
that  as  a  nail  sticks  fast  between  the  joinings  of  the  stones, 
so  doth  sin  stick  close  betwixt  buying  and  selling.^ 
Thus  did  God  call  back  his  people  to  their  ancient 
customs,  showing  them  the  powerful  reasons  that 
induced  their  fathers  not  to  trade. 

But  they  were  not  much  better  for  his  instructions  ; 
and  since  their  utter  reprobation  they  have  always 
been  departing  farther  and  farther  from  the  simple 
and  natural  way  in  which  the  Israelites  lived.  Iti  s 
a  long  time  since  the  Jews  had  any  lands,  or  follow- 
ed husbandry  ;  they  live  only  by  trade,  and  by  the 
worst  sort  of  it  too.  They  are  retailers,  brokers, 
and  usurers  ;  their  whole  substance  consists  only  in 
money,  and  other  moveables  ;  few  of  them  have 
habitations  of  their  own  in  any  city. 

Many  profess  physic,  and  have  done  so  ever  since 
the  time  I  am  speaking  of.  The  author  of  Eccle- 
siasticus shows  it,  who  recommends  the  use  of  this 
art,  and  the  composition  of  medicines.:}:  There  is 
mention  made  in  the  gospel  of  a  woman  who  had 
spent  all  that  she  had  upon  physicians. §  What  the 
forementioned  author  says  afterwards  of  the  great 
leisure  required  for  the  study  of  wisdom,  ||  seems  to 
prove  that  the  scribes  or  doctors  made  it  their  whole 
employment  :  but  he  shows  at  the  same  time  the 
necessity  of  artificers,  and  there  were  then  many 
among  the  Jews.**  The  apostles,  Joseph,  and  Jesus 
Christ  himself,  are  undeniable  examples  of  it ;  and 
what  is  most  remarkable,  St.  Paul,  though  brought  up 
to  letters,  was  master  likewise  of  a  trade.  The  Jews 
relate  the  same  of  their  most  celebrated  rabbins. ff 

*Ecclus.xxvi,29.  f  Ibid,  xxvii,  2.  { Ibid,  xxxviii,!— 15.  §Lul«- 
viii,  43.  |i  Ecclus.  xxxviii,  24.  **  Ibid,  xxxviii,  27,  &c.  -ft  Talmud. 


Ch.  VI.]  Their  Sects.  183 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Their  Sects  and  Superstitions. 

THE  difference  of  sects  began  at  that  time :  under 
Jonathan  the  son  of  Mattathias  there  were  already 
Pharisees,  Sadducees,  and  Essenes  *  The  Pharisees 
joined  the  traditions  of  the  fathers  to  the  text  of  the 
law,  which  were  preserved  without  writing :  and 
though  the  doctrine  they  maintained  was  good  at  the 
bottom,  they  mixed  a  great  many  superstitions  with 
it.  They  believed  in  fate,  moderated  by  freewill,  or 
rather  by  providence,  which  guides  it.  The  Saddu- 
cees, who  were  a  sort  of  Deists,  imputed  all  to  free- 
will. They  acknowledged  only  the  five  books  of 
Moses  as  divine,  and  these  they  interpreted  literally, 
and  pretended  that  they  did  not  oblige  them  to  be- 
lieve a  resurrection,  or  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  or 
that  there  were  angels  or  spirits. f  Thus  they  served 
God  only  for  a  temporal  reward,  and  gave  themselves 
up  much  to  sensual  pleasures.  They  had  little  agree- 
ment among  themselves,  and  but  small  authority  with 
the  people.  Their  number  was  not  great ;  but  they 
were  the  chief  of  the  nation,  and  even  many  of  them 
priests.  The  common  people  were  more  attached 
to  the  Pharisees,  who  kept  an  outward  show  of  great 
piety.  Queen  Alexandra  gave  them  considerable 
power  in  the  minority  of  her  sons.| 

The  sect  of  Essenes  was  the  most  singular.  They 
avoided  living  in  great  towns,  their  goods  were  in 
common,  and  their  diet  veryplain.§  They  spent  a 
great  deal  of  time  in  prayer,  and  meditating  upon  the 
law.  Their  manner  of  life  was  very  like  that  of  the 
prophets  and  Rechabites.  Some  of  them  too  observed 
a  perfect  continence,  leading  a  life  altogether  con- 
templative, and  in  such  purity  that  many  of  the  fathers 
have  taken  them  for  Christians.  They  were  a  very 
simple  and  upright  people,  and  are  never  reprehended 
by  Christ  or  his  apostles. 

*  Joseph.  Ant.  xiii,  9.  XTiii,  2.     t  Acts  xxiii,  8.     J  Joseph,  Bell,  i,  4 
§  Ibid,  ii,  7. 


184  Manners  of  the  Israelites,         [Part  III, 

The  Pharisees  lived  in  the  midst  of  the  world,  in  great 
amity  with  one  another,  leading  a  plain  and  outward- 
ly strict  life  :  but  most  of  them  were  interested,  am- 
bitious, and  covetous.  They  valued  themselves  on 
a  great  exactness  in  the  outward  performance  of  the 
law.*  They  gave  tithes  not  only  of  large  fruits,  but 
of  the  smallest  herbs,  as  cummin,  mint,  and  anise. 
They  took  great  care  to  wash  themselves,  to  purify 
their  cups,  their  plate,  and  all  their  furniture.  They 
kept  the  sabbath  so  scrupulously,  that  they  made  it 
a  crime  in  our  Saviour  to  moisten  a  bit  of  clay  at 
the  end  of  his  finger,  f  and  in  his  disciples  to  pluck 
some  ears  of  corn  to  eat  as  they  passed  along-! 
They  fasted  often,  many  of  them  twice  a  week,§  i.e. 
on  Mondays  and  Thursdays.  They  affected  wearing 
the  totaphot \\  or  phylacteries  on  the  borders  of  their 
garments,  together  with  their  tsitsith  or  fringes  much 
larger  than  ordinary.**  The  totaphot,  tephillin,  or 
phylacteries,  are  scraps  of  writing,  containing  some 
passages  of  the  law,  fastened  upon  their  forehead 
and  left  arm,  in  obedience  to  the  command  of  having 
the  law  of  God  always  before  their  eyes  or  in  their 
hands. ff  The  tsitsith  or  fringes  were  of  different 
colours,  and  they  were  ordered  to  wear  them  on  the 
borders  of  their  garments,  that  they  might  look  upon 
them  ;  and  remember  the  commandments  of  God.|| 
The  Jews  even  to  this  day  wear  these  outward  marks 
of  religion,  when  they  go  to  the  synagogue  ;  but 
upon  working  days  only  ;  for  upon  the  sabbath  and 
feast  days  they  pretend  they  have  no  occasion  for 
these  remembrancers. §§ 

*  Matt,  xxiii,  23.  Markvii,2.  fJohnix,6.  JMatt.xii,2.  SLukc 
xviii,  12. 

llnaOllO  Totphot,  according  to  R.  S.  Jarchi,  signifies  two  and  two, 
or  twice  two;  {jg  signifies  two  in  the  language  of  the  Cathpians,  (a 
people  of  Spain,)  and  RQ  the  same  in  the  African  or  Punic  tongue. 
Hence  the  totphot  are  always  divided  into  four  compartments.  See 
Jarchi  on  Exod.  xiii,  16. 

**  Matt,  xxiii,  5.     tt  Deut.  vi,  8.     J{  Numb,  xv,  38. 

§§  Buxtorf.  Synagog.  Jud.  c.  4.  PHYLACTERIES,  0uXa/tr^ia  from 
$v\aaata,  to  keep  or  preserve,  were  small  slips  of  parchment  or  vellum., 
an  which  certain  portions  of  the  law  were  written.  These  the  Jew^ 


Ch.  VI.]  Their  pretended  Sanctity.  185 

The  Pharisees  gave  alms  in  public,  and  made  their 
faces  that  they  might  look  as  if  they  fasted  much.* 
For  an  unclean  person  to  touch  them  was  reckoned 
the  highest  affront .  and  such  they  esteemed  not 
only  the  Gentiles  and  public  sinners,  but  all  that 

tied  about  their  foreheads  and  wrists.  1.  To  put  them  in  mind  of  those 
precepts  which  they  should  constantly  observe.  2.  To  procure  them 
reverence  and  respect  in  the  sight  of  the  heathen  ;  and  3.  To  act  as 
amulets  or  charms  to  drive  away  evil  spirits.  The  first  use  of  these 
phylacteries  is  evident  from  their  name.  The  second  use  appears  from 
what  is  said  on  the  subject  from  Gemara,  Beracoth,  quoted  by  Kypke. 
"Whence  is  it  proved  that  phylacteries  (fS'SH  Tephilin)  are  the 
strength  of  Israel  ?  Ans.  From  what  is  written,  Deut.  xxviii,  10.  All 
the  people  of  the  earth  shall  see  that  thou  art  called  by  the  name  of 
niTV  Jehovah  ;  and  they  shall  be  afraid  of  thee."  The  third  use  of 
them  appears  from  the  Targum  on  Cant,  viii,  3.  His  left  hand  is 
under  my  head,  &c.  "  The  congregation  of  Israel  hath  said,  I  am 
elect  above  all  people,  because  I  bind  my  phylacteries  on  my  left  hand 
and  on  my  head,  and  the  scroll  is  fixed  to  the  right  side  of  my  gate, 
the  third  part  of  which  looks  to  my  bed  chamber,  that  demons  may  not 
be  permitted  to  injure  me." 

An  original  phylactery  lies  now  before  me.  It  is  a  piece  of  fine 
vellum  about  eighteen  inches  long,  and  an  inch  and  a  quarter  broad. 
It  is  divided  into  four  unequal  compartments :  in  the  first  is  written 
in  a  very  fair  character  (with  many  apices  after  the  mode  of  the  Ger- 
man Jews)  the  first  ten  verses  of  Exod.  xiii.  In  the  second  compart- 
ment is  written  from  the  eleventh  to  the  sixteenth  verse  of  the  same 
chapter,  inclusive. 

In  the  third,  from  the  fourth  to  the  ninth  verse,  inclusive  of  Deut. 
vi,  beginning  with,  Hear,  O  Israel,  SfC. 

In  the  fourth,  from  the  13th  to  the  21st  verse,  inclusive,  of  Deut.  xi, 
Jlnd  it  shall  come  to  pass,  <$•<:.  These  passages  seem  to  be  chosen  in 
vindication  of  the  use  of  the  phylactery  itself,  as  the  reader  will  see  in 
consulting  them.  Bind  them  up  for  a  sign  upon  thy  hand,  and  for 
frontlets  between  thy  eyes.  Write  them  upon  the  posts  of  thy  house,  and 
upon  thy  gates  ; — all  which  commands  the  Jews  took  in  the  most  literal 
sense.  Even  the  phylactery  became  an  important  appendage  to  a 
Pharisee's  character  ;  insomuch  that  some  of  this  sect  wore  them  very 
broad,  either  that  they  might  have  the  more  written  on  them,  or  that 
the  characters  being  larger  they  might  be  the  more  visible,  and  that 
they  might  hereby  acquire  greater  esteem  among  the  common  people. 
For  the  same  reason  they  wore  the  fringes  of  their  garments  of  an 
unusual  length.  Moses  had  commanded  (Numb,  xv,  38,  39,)  the 
children  of  Israel  to  put  fringes  to  the  borders  of  their  garments,  that 
when  they  looked  even  upon  these  distinct  threads,  they  might  remem- 
ber not  only  the  law  in  general,  but  also  the  very  minute  or  smaller 
parts  of  all  the  precepts,  rites  and  ceremonies  belonging  to  it.  As 
these  hypocrites  were  destitute  of  the  life  and  power  of  religion 
within,  they  endeavoured  to  supply  its  place  by  phylacteries  and  fringes 
without. 

*  Matt,  vi,  2,  5,  16— IS. 

16* 


1S6  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  HI, 

were  of  any  odious  profession.  In  short,  most  of 
them  were  devout  only  out  of  interest ;  they  misled 
ignorant  people  by  their  specious  discourses,  and 
the  women  even  stripped  themselves  of  whatever 
was  valuable,  to  enrich  them  ;  aud,  under  pretence 
that  they  were  the  people  of  God,  with  whom  the 
law  was  deposited,  they  despised  the  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans, and  all  the  nations  upon  earth. 

We  still  see  in  the  books  of  the  Jews  these  tradi- 
tions, of  which  the  Pharisees  made  so  great  a  mys- 
tery from  time  to  time,  and  which  were  written  about 
a  hundred  years  after  the  resurrection  of  Christ.  It  is 
hardly  possible  for  a  Christian  to  conceive  the  fri- 
volous questions  with  which  these  books  are  filled  ; 
as,  Whether  it  be  lawful  on  the  sabbath  day  to  get 
upon  an  ass  to  take  it  to  the  water,  or  whether  it  must 
be  led  by  the  halter  ?  Whether  one  may  walk  over 
new  sown  land,  because  one  runs  a  hazard  of  taking 
up  some  grains  with  the  foot  and  consequently  of 
sowing  them  ?  Whether  it  be  permitted  on  that  day 
to  write  as  many  letters  of  the  alphabet  as  will  make 
sense  ?  If  it  be  lawful  to  eat  an  egg  laid  on  the  sab- 
bath the  same  day?  About  purifying  the  old  leaven 
before  the  passover  :  whether  they  must  begin  again 
to  purify  a  house,  if  they  should  see  a  mouse  running 
across  it  with  a  crumb  of  bread  ?  If  it  be  lawful  to 
keep  pasted  paper,  or  any  plaster  that  has  flour  in 
it  ?  If  it  be  lawful  to  eat  what  has  been  dressed  with 
the  coals  that  remain  after  the  old  leaven  is  burnt  ?* 
and  a  thousand  of  other  such  cases  of  conscience,  with 
which  the  Talmud  and  its  commentaries  are  stuffed. 

Thus  the  Jews  forgot  the  greatness  and  majesty  of 
the  law  of  God,  applying  themselves  to  mean  and 
trifling  things  ;  and  were  now  stupid  and  ignorant  in 
comparison  of  the  Greeks,  who  reasoned  upon  more 
useful  and  elevated  subjects  in  their  schools,  and  who 
at  least,  were  polite  and  agreeable,  if  not  virtuous. 

Not  but  there  were  always  some  Jews  more  curi- 
ous than  the  rest,  who  took  pains  to  speak  Greek 

*  Buxtorf.  Synag.  cap.  xi. 


Oh.  VI.]        Their  knowledge  of  Greek.  187 

correctly,  read  Greek  books,  and  applied  to  their 
studies,  as  grammar,  rhetoric,  and  philosophy.  Such 
a  one  was  Aristobulus,  a  peripatetic  philosopher, 
preceptor  to  Ptolemy  Philometor ;  and  such  were  Eu- 
polemus,  Demetrius,  and  the  two  Philos.  Some  of 
them  wrote  histories  in  Greek,  and  after  the  Greek 
manner ;  as  Jason  of  Cyrene  ;  and  the  author  of 
the  second  book  of  Maccabees,*  who  has  abridged 
his  works  ;  and  Josephus  the  celebrated  historian. 

Most  of  the  Jews  that  studied  Greek  lived  at  Alex- 
andria. Others  were  content  to  speak  Greek  so  as 
to  be  understood,  that  is,  badly,  and  always  retain- 
ing the  turn  of  their  native  language  :  and  it  is  in 
this  compound  Greek  that  the  translations  of  the 
Old  Testament,  and  the  original  of  the  New,  are 
written.  The  apostles  and  evangelists  thought  it 
sufficient  to  write  in  a  clear  concise  manner,  despi- 
sing all  ornaments  of  language,  and  making  use  of 
that  which  was  most  easy  to  be  understood  by  the 
common  people  of  their  own  nation ;  so  that,  to 
understand  their  Greek  perfectly,  one  must  be  ac- 
quainted with  Hebrew  and  Syriac.f 

The  Jews  of  these  later  times  employed  themselves 
much  in  reading  their  law,  and  the  holy  Scriptures 
in  general.  They  were  not  satisfied  with  expound- 
ing them  according  to  the  letter :  they  found  out  se- 
veral senses  in  them,  expressed  by  allegories  and 
divers  metaphors  :  we  see  it  not  only^tn  the  New 
Testament,  and  the  writings  of  the  most  ancient  fa- 
thers in  controversy  with  them,|  but  by  the  books 
of  Philo,  the  Talmud,  and  oldest  Hebrew  commen- 
tators upon  the  law,  which  they  call  great  Genesis, 
great  Exodus,  and  so  on.§  They  held  these  figura- 
tive senses  by  tradition  from  their  fathers. 

But  to  say  all  at  once,  the  manners  of  the  Jews 

*  2  Mace,  ii,  23. 

t  In  order  to  understand  the  phraseology  of  the  New  Testament 
properly,  the  Septuagint  should  be  carefully  studied ;  and,  indeed,  a 
knowledge  of  Hebrew  is  in  many  respects  essential  to  a  thorough 
understanding  of  both. 

t  Justin.  Dial,  cum  Tryph.     §  Bereshith  Rabba,  &c. 


188  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  III. 

in  those  times  were  excessively  corrupt.  They  were 
ridiculously  proud  of  being  descended  from  Abra- 
ham, and  puffed  up  with  the  promises  of  the  Messiah's 
kingdom,  which  they  knew  to  be  near,  and  imagined 
would  abound  with  victories  and  all  manner  of  tem- 
poral prosperity.  They  were  selfish,  avaricious,  and 
sordid,  especially  the  Pharisees,  who  were  in  general 
great  hypocrites  :  they  were  wavering  and  unfaith- 
ful, always  ripe  for  sedition  and  revolt,  under  a  pre- 
fence  of  casting  off  the  yoke  of  the  Gentiles.  In 
short,  they  were  violent  and  cruel,  as  appears  by 
what  they  made  our  Saviour  and  his  apostles  under- 
go, and  the  unexampled  injuries  they  did  one  ano- 
ther, both  in  the  time  of  the  civil  war,  and  the  last 
siege  of  Jerusalem. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  true  Israelites. 

HOWEVER,  it  was  among  these  people  that  the 
tradition  of  virtue  was  preserved,  as  well  as  that  of 
doctrine  and  religion.  In  this  last  time  they  had 
still  splendid  examples  of  holiness  ;  Zachariah  and 
Elizabeth  his  wife,  Joseph,  old  Simeon,  Anna  the 
prophetess,  Nathaniel,  Gamaliel  the  great  doctor, 
and  many  others  taken  notice  of  in  the  history  of 
the  New  Testament.  All  these  holy  persons,  and 
the  spiritual  Jews  in  general,  that  were  circumcised 
in  heart,  as  well  as  body,  were  children  of  Abraham, 
more  by  imitation  of  his  faith,  than  by  birth.  They 
firmly  believed  the  prophecies  and  promises  of  God ; 
they  waited  with  patience  for  the  redemption  of  Israel 
and  the  reign  of  the  Messiah,  which  they  vehemently 
wished  for :  but  they  plainly  saw  they  were  not  to 
confine  their  hopes  to  this  life,  but  believed  the 
resurrection,  and  expected  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
Thus  the  grace  of  the  gospel  being  superadded  to 
such  holy  dispositions,  it  was  easy  to  make  perfect 
Christians  of  these  true  Israelites. 


Oh.  I.]         Their  Tribes  and  Families.  189 


PART  IV.  ;r    4 

Containing  farther  particulars  concerning  the  Customs,  Manners,  &c., 
of  the  Israelites,  in  which  a  variety  of  subjects,  either  not  touched 
before,  or  but  slightly  handled,  are  considered  more  at  large; 


CHAPTER  I. 

Division  of  the  Hebrews  into  Tribes  and  Families. 

THE  Hebrews  were  divided  into  twelve  tribes, 
according  to  the  number  of  the  sons  of  Jacob.  But 
God  reserved  to  himself  the  posterity  of  Levi,  and 
consecrated  them  to  the  service  of  his  altars.  So 
that  tribe  could  not  properly  be  reckoned  among  the 
twelve  tribes  ;  but  then  Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  the 
two  sons  of  Joseph,  made  two  different  tribes,  which 
thereby  supplied  its  place.  The  tribe  of  Levi  was 
divided  into  three  families,  which  derived  their  names 
and  origin  from  the  three  sons  of  Levi.  From  Ger- 
shon  came  the  Gershonites ;  from  Kohath,  the  Ko- 
hathites  ;  from  Merari,  the  Merarites.  Kohath,  the 
second  son  of  Levi,  had  Amram,  the  father  of  Aaron 
and  Moses  ;  the  latter  of  which  was  the  governor  and 
lawgiver  of  the  Hebrews,  the  former  their  high  priest. 
Aaron  had  four  sons,  Nadab,  Abihu,  Eleazar,  and 
Ithamar.  After  the  death  of  the  two  former  the 
priesthood  remained  with  the  two  others,  whose  pos- 
terity David  divided  into  twenty-four  classes,  who 
performed  the  offices  of  the  priesthood  weekly,  in 
their  turns.*  Sixteen  of  these  classes  were  in  the 
family  of  Eleazar ;  whose  names  and  order  were  as 
follow: — l.Jehoiarib,  2.  Jedaiah,  3.  Harim,  4.  Seo- 
rim,  5.  Malchijah,  6.  Mijamim,  7.  Hakkoz,  8.  Abi- 
jah,  9.Jeshuah,  10.  Shecaiah,  ll.Eliashib,  12.  Ja- 
kirn,  13.  Huppah,  14.  Jeshebeah,  15.  Bilgah,  16. 
Immer. — So  that  there  were  but  eight  in  the  family 
of  Ithamar,  viz.  17.  Hezir,  18.  Aphses,  19.  Petha- 

*  1  Chron.  xxiv. 


190  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  IV. 

hiah,    20.  Jehezekel,*  21.  Jachin,   22.  Gamul,   23. 
Delaiah,  24.  Maaziah. 

The  other  tribes  were  divided  into  different  fami- 
lies in  the  same  manner,  and  their  names  were  these  : 

The  tribe  of  Reuben  had  four  families  ;  the  Hanoch- 
ites,  the  Palluites,  the  Hesronites,  the  Carmites. 

The  tribe  of  Simeon  had  live  ;  the  Nemuelites,  the 
Jaminites,  the  Jachiriites,  the  Zarhites,  the  Shaulites. 

The  tribe  of  Gad  had  seven  ;  tne  Zephonites,  the* 
Haggites,  the  Shanites,  the  Oznites,  the  Erites,  the 
Arodites,  the  Arelites. 

The  tribe  of  Judah  had  five  ;  the  Shelanites,  the 
Pharzites,  the  Zarhites,  the  Hesronites,  the  Hamul- 
ites. 

The  tribe  of  Issachar  had  four  ;  the  Tolaites,  the 
Punites,  the  Jashubites,  the  Shrimronites. 

The  tribe  of  Zebulun  had  three ;  the  Sardites,  the 
Elonites,  the  Jahleelites. 

The  tribe  of  Manasseh  had  eight ;  the  Machirites, 
the  Gileadites,  the  Jeezerites,  the  Helekites,  the 
Arielites,  the  Schechemites,  the  Shemiadites,  the 
Hepherites. 

The  tribe  of  Ephraim  had  four  ;  the  Shuthalites, 
the  Bachrites,  the  Tahanii< :.-,,  the  Eranites. 

The  tribe  of  Benjamin  had  seven  ;  the  Belaites,  the 
Ashbeelites,  the  Ahiramites,  the  Shuphamites,  the 
Huphamites,  the  Ardites,  the  Naamites. 

The  tribe  of  Dan  had  but  one  ;  the  Shuhamites. 

The  tribe  of  Jlsher  had  five  ;  the  Jimnites,  the  Je- 
suites,  the  Beriites,  the  Heberites,  the  Malchielites. 

The  tribe  of  Naphtali  had  four ;  the  Jahzeelites, 
the  Gunites,  the  Jezerites,  the  Shillemites. 

Hitherto  we  have  spoken  only  of  the  Hebrews  by 
birth,  who  descended  from  Abraham,  and  belonged 
to  one  of  the  tribes  ;  whence  it  was  that  they  were 
better  esteemed  among  the  Jews  than  those  who  had 
been  born  Gentiles,  and  had  embraced  Judaism.  For 
thus  we  find  St.  Paul  urging  it,  as  a  matter  of  merit 
among  the  Jews,  that  he  was  born  a  Jew.  '  I  was,' 

*  Or,  Ezechiel. 


Ch.  I.]  Their  Proselytes.  191 

says  he,  '  circumcised  the  eighth  day,  of  the  stock  of 
Israel,  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  a  Hebrew  of  the 
Hebrews  :  as  touching  the  law,  a  Pharisee.*  The 
second  sort  of  the  Hebrews  we  mentioned  were  such 
as  were  Gentiles  by  birth,  hut  had  embraced  the  Jew- 
ish religion. 

None  was  excluded  from  receiving  Judaism  but 
eunuchs.  All  strangers  were  received  into  it  when- 
ever they  thought  fit  to  submit  to  its  laws,  or  at  least 
to  the  principal  of  them ;  for  these  proselytes  (that 
is  to  say,  strangers^)  were  of  two  sorts.  Some 
were  called  proselytes  of  habitation,  $  others,  proselytes 
of  justice.  The  former  had  only  their  dwelling  or 
habitation  among  the  Jews,  and  did  not  engage  them- 
selves to  an  entire  observance  of  the  law.  But  they 
were  nevertheless  obliged  to  keep  the  sabbath,  and 
what  the  Talmudists  call  the  precepts  of  Noah,  that 
is,  what  God  commanded  Noah  to  observe,  namely, 
not  to  worship  idols,  and  to  abstain  from  blood ; 
together  with  some  other  commandments  which  he 
gave  him,  and  of  which  we  shall  speak  more  particu- 
larly in  another  place.  For  the  Jews  were  far  from 
suffering  the  strangers,  who  dwelled  among  them,  to 
live  without  laws.  All  which  Maimonides  explains 
in  his  treatise  of  a  proselyte. §  «  What,"  says  he,  "  is 
a  proselyte  of  habitation  ?  He  is  one  who  engages  to 
renounce  idolatry,  and  observe  the  commandments 
which  were  given  to  the  children  of  Noah ;  but 
neither  is  circumcised  nor  baptized.  He  is  called  a 
proselyte  of  habitation,  because  we  are  permitted  to 
give  such  a  one  a  habitation  among  the  children  oi 
Israel,  and  he  is  received  as  a  religious  Gentile."  He 
adds,  "Whoever  engages  to  keep  the  commandments 
of  Noah,  and  is  exact  in  his  observance  of  them,  has 
a  right  to  the  rewards  of  a  future  state."  And  the 
Jews  were  forbidden  to  suffer  any  Gentile  to  live 
among  them  who  did  not  submit  to  the  observance  of 

*  Phil,  iii,  5.     f  npwmX»ro«. 

I  Or,  proselytes  of  the  gate,  because  permitted  to  live  within  their 
gates.  Prid.  Con.  part  ii,  lib.  5.  §  Chap.  2. 


192  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  IV. 

these  precepts ;  as  we  learn  from  the  same  author. 
"  We  are  obliged,"  says  he,  "  to  kill  all  the  Gentiles 
who  refuse  to  keep  the  commandments  of  Noah,  if 
they  are  in  our  power.  It  is  only  to  us,  who  are  the 
inheritance  of  Jacob,  and  to  those  of  any  other 
nation  who  will  become  proselytes,  that  Moses  has 
given  the  law.  For  it  is  said  there  shall  be  no  dif- 
ference between  the  proselytes  and  you.  And  there- 
fore, as  to  the  law,  let  him  embrace  it  that  will ; 
we  force  nobody  to  it :  but  as  for  the  command- 
ments of  Noah,  Moses  our  master,  who  was  taught 
by  God  himself,  has  commanded  us  to  force  all  those 
who  shall  come  into  the  world  to  observe  them,  and 
to  kill  all  those  who  shall  refuse  to  keep  them.  He 
who  receives  them  is  called  a  proselyte  of  habitation, 
and  must  engage  himself  to  do  so  in  the  presence  of 
three  learned  persons." 

The  second  sort  of  converted  Hebrews  were  called 
proselytes  of  justice.  They  were  so  called,  because 
they  embraced  the  whole  law  of  Moses,  and  engaged 
themselves  to  live  holily  and  justly.  And  they  there- 
fore had  the  rank  and  privileges  of  natural  Jews. 
And  it  is  of  them  that  we  are  to  understand  those 
words  of  our  blessed  Saviour  in  the  gospel,  « Ye 
compass  sea  and  land  to  make  one  proselyte.'* 

In  order  to  become  a  proselyte  of  justice,  there  were 
three  ceremonies  to  be  performed ;  the  first  of  which 
was  circumcision.  The  blood  that  was  spilt  in  the 
performance  of  this,  was  called  the  blood  of  the  cove- 
nant, and  these  new  converts  were  thought  to  be  the 
children  of  it.  And  as  to  the  necessity  of  it,  the 
commandment  of  God  to  Abraham  is  very  express : 
'  The  uncircumcised  man  child,  whose  flesh  of  his 
foreskin  is  not  circumcised,  that  soul  shall  be  cut  off 
from  his  people.'!  Circumcision  was,  as  it  were, 
the  seal  which  sealed  the  covenant  which  the  prose- 
lyte entered  into  with  God,  and  the  solemn  profes- 
sion he  made  of  observing  the  law  of  Moses ;  which 
made  St.  Paul  say,|  *  I  testify  to  every  man  that  is 
*  Matt,  xxiii,  15.  f  Gen.  xvii,  14.  j  Gal.  v,  3, 


Ch.  I.]  Baptism  of  Proselytes.  193 

circumcised,*  that  he  is  a  debtor  to  do  the  whole 
law.'  And  Maimonidesf  also  teaches  the  same  thing. 
"  When  a  Gentile,"  says  he,  "  has  a  mind  to  enter 
into  the  covenant,  to  shelter  himself  under  the  wings 
of  the  majesty  of  God,  and  to  submit  to  the  law,  he 
must  be  circumcised." 

The  second  ceremony  was  washing,  or  baptism; 
which  must  have  been  performed  in  the  presence  of 
at  least  three  Jews  of  distinction.  At  the  time  of 
the  performance  of  it,  the  proselyte  declared  his  ab- 
horrence of  his  past  life,  and  that  it  was  neither  am- 
bition nor  avarice,  but  a  sincere  love  for  the  law  of 
Moses,  which  prevailed  on  him  to  be  baptized ;  and 
he  was  then  likewise  instructed  in  the  most  essential 
part  of  the  law.  He  promised  at  the  same  time  to 
lead  a  godly  life,  to  worship  the  true  God,  and  to 
keep  his  commandments.  And  hence  the  Christian 
church  has  borrowed  those  ceremonies  which  she 
makes  use  of  in  receiving  proselytes,  whether  Jews 
or  Gentiles ;  for  it  is  manifest  that  the  institution  of 
baptism  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  discipline  of  the 
primitive  church  in  the  administration  of  it,  have  a 
relation  to  this  ceremony  among  the  Jews. 

The  third  ceremony  to  be  performed  was  that  of 
offering  sacrifice.  All  these,  except  circumcision, 
were  performed  by  the  women  as  well  as  the  men, 
who  became  proselytes.  And  as  concerning  those 
who  had  gone  through  all  these  ceremonies,  it  was  a 
common  opinion  among  the  Jews,  that  they  ought  to 
be  looked  on  as  new-born  infants.  Maimonides 
says  it  in  express  terms  :  "A  Gentile,"  says  he,  "who 
is  become  a  proselyte,  and  a  slave  who  is  set  at  liber- 
ty, are  both  as  it  were  new-born  babes ;  which  is  the 
reason  why  those  who  before  were  their  parents, 
are  now  no  longer  so."  Whence  it  is  evident,  that 
nothing  could  be  more  just  than  Jesus  Christ's  re- 
proaching Nicodemus  with  his  being  a  master  in 

*  Or,  as  the  French  has  it,  Every  man  that  causes  himself  to  be  cir- 
cumcised, f  Ibid.  ch.  i. 

17 


194  Manners  of  the  Israelites.        [Part  IV. 

Israel,  and  yet  being  at  the  same  time  ignorant  how 
a  man  could  be  born  a  second  time.* 

But  to  be  more  particular ;  I  cannot  forbear  re- 
lating here  at  large  all  that  Maimonides  says  of  the 
manner  of  their  receiving  proselytes.  It  will,  I  doubt 
not,  be  some  pleasure  to  the  reader  to  trace  out  in 
it  the  origin  of  Christian  baptism,  and  of  the  ancient 
ceremonies  which  the  church  observed  in  it.  For 
they  are  all  borrowed  from  the  Jews  ;  Jesus  Christ 
and  his  apostles  not  having  thought  fit  to  abolish  them, 
or  to  substitute  new  ones  in  their  room. 

"  How,"  says  he,  "  ought  a  proselyte  now  to  be 
received  ?    When  any  one  offers  himself,  if  upon  a 
strict  inquiry  it  appears  that  the  motives  to  his  con- 
version are  pure,  he  shall  be  asked  this  question : 
What  have  you  seen  in  us  which  inclines  you  to  be- 
come a  proselyte  ?     Don't  you  know  that  the  Israel- 
ites live  now  in  sorrow  and  reproach,  that  they  are 
exiles,  are  dispersed  abroad,  and  are  laden  every  day 
with  fresh  miseries  ?    If  he  answers,  I  know  all  this, 
and  yet  think  myself  unworthy  of  being  received 
among  them,  he  must  be  admitted.     And  then  he 
shall  be  taught  the  principal  articles  of  religion,  the 
unity  of  God,  and  the  prohibition  of  idolatry,  in  which 
he  must  be  thoroughly  instructed.     And  among  the 
commandments  of  God  which  are  taught  him,  both 
some  of  the  most  and  some  of  the  least  importance 
shall  be  mentioned,  but  briefly.     To  which  shall  be 
added  the  punishments  annexed  to  the  breach  of 
these  precepts.     It  shall  be  said  to  him,  Are  you 
sensible  that  before  you  embrace  religion  you  may 
eat  fat,  and  not  observe  the  sabbath  ?    And  that  if 
after  you  are  become  a  proselyte  you  eat  fat,  you 
will  be  excommunicated,  and  if  you  break  the  sab- 
bath, stoned  ?     But  nevertheless  these  punishments 
are  not>to  be  mentioned  to  him  but  with  a  great  deal 
of  prudence,  lest  the  terrible  idea  they  give  him  of 
religion  should  turn  him  from  the  right  way.     Men 

*  John  iii,  10. 


Ch.  I.]         How  they  received  Proselytes.  195 

must  first  be  won  over  by  gentle  methods ;  they  must, 
as  the  Scripture  expresses  it,  be  '  drawn  with  the 
cords  of  a  man,  with  bands  of  love.'* 

"  And  as  he  must  be  instructed  in  the  doctrine  of 
punishments,  so  likewise  in  that  of  rewards.  It  shall 
be  declared  to  him,  that  the  observance  of  the  law 
will  gain  him  an  immortal  life  in  the  other  world, 
and  that  none  are  truly  wise  and  just  in  this,  but  they 
who  know  the  law  and  keep  it.  For  it  shall  be  added, 
that  a  future  life  is  reserved  only  for  the  righteous, 
which  are  the  Israelites ;  arid  that  if  they  are  unhappy 
in  this  world,  this  very  thing  shows  that  they  will  be 
eternally  happy  in  the  next.  It  is  not  necessary  that 
they  should  enjoy  the  same  happiness  upon  earth  that 
other  people  do ;  their  corrupt  inclinations  might  lead 
them  either  into  pride  or  error,  and  they  might  by 
that  means  lose  the  reward  of  the  world  to  come. 
Jeskurun,  as  saith  the  Scripture,  '  waxed  fat,  and 
kicked. 'f  So  that  God  does  not  punish  the  Israel- 
ites with  design  to  destroy  them.  No,  they  shall  be 
preserved  ;  and  it  is  the  Gentiles  which  shall  be  de- 
stroyed. It  is  proper  to  enlarge  upon  this  subject, 
that  his  love  and  zeal  may  be  doubled  thereby. 

"  If  he  alters  his  resolution,  and  no  longer  desires 
to  be  a  proselyte,  he  shall  be  left  at  his  liberty.  If 
he  perseveres,  circumcision  must  not  be  deferred. 
And  if  he  has  been  already  circumcised,  the  blood  of 
the  covenant  must  be  drawn  afresh  from  the  wound. 
And  then  time  shall  be  given  him  for  his  cure,  after 
which  he  must  be  baptized. 

"  Three  chosen  men  shall  stand  before  him  when 
he  is  in  the  water,  and  shall  again  propose  to  him  some 
of  the  commandments  of  the  law.  If  it  be  a  woman, 
women  shall  put  her  into  the  water,  the  doctors  shall 
instruct  her  while  she  is  in  it,  and  then  they  shall  go 
out,  and  turn  away  their  eyes  from  her  while  she 
comes  out  of  it." 

*Hos.  xi,  4.     fDeut.  xxxii,  15. 


196  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  IV 

CHAPTER  II. 

Names  and  Divisions  of  the  Holy  Land. 

As  to  names,  the  country  of  the  Hebrews  has  had 
several.  It  was  first  called  the  land  of  Canaan,  from 
Canaan  the  son  of  Ham,  whose  posterity  possessed  it, 
It  was  afterwards  called  Palestine,  from  the  people 
which  the  Hebrews  call  Philistines;  and  the  Greeks 
and  Romans  (corruptly)  Palestines,  who  inhabit  the 
seacoasts,  and  were  first  known  to  them.  And  it 
likewise  had  the  name  of  the  land  of  promise,  from 
the  promise  God  gave  Abraham  of  giving  it  to  him ; 
that  of  the  land  of  Israel,  from  the  Israelites  having 
made  themselves  masters  of  it ;  that  of  Judea,  from 
the  tribe  of  Judah,  which  was  the  most  considerable 
of  the  twelve,  and  the  only  one  that  remained  after 
the  dispersion ;  and  lastly,  the  happiness  it  had,  of 
being  sanctified  by  the  presence,  actions,  miracles, 
and  death,  of  Jesus  Christ,  has  given  it  the  name  of 
the  holy  land,  which  it.  retains  to  this  day. 

As  it  has  happened  to  other  countries,  with  respect 
to  the  inhabitants,  and  their  cities,  so  likewise  to  this. 
It  has  often  changed  its  inhabitants  and  masters  ;  se- 
veral of  its  cities  have  been  ruined,  and  several  of 
them  new  built ;  and  it  has  been  divided  in  several 
different  manners,  in  the  various  revolutions  it  has 
undergone.  For  it  was  differently  divided,  1 .  By  its 
ancient  inhabitants  ;  2.  By  Joshua  ;  3.  By  the  Ro- 
mans ;  4.  In  the  time  of  Christ ;  and  5.  By  Herod. 

But  it  is  not  so  as  to  its  rivers  and  mountains  ; 
they  are  neither  of  them  subject  to  change.  The 
Jordan  is  almost  the  only  river  in  the  Holy  Land  ; 
the  others  are  rather  brooks  or  rivulets.  This  river 
divides  Judea  ;  for  it  has  its  rise  among  the  moun- 
tains of  Libanus,  and  after  having  run  through  the 
sea  of  Galilee,  loses  itself  in  the  Dead  sea,  which  is 
the  other  extremity  of  the  land  of  Judah,  towards  the 
south.  It  took  its  name  from  the  city  of  Dan,  in 


Ch.  II.]     Mountains  and  ancient  Inhabitants.         197 

whose  neighbourhood  it  rises  ;  for  Jordan,  or  Yarden, 
is  the  same  thing  as  if  it  was  said,  the  river  of  Dan.* 
The  sea  of  Galilee,  which  Jordan  runs  through,  is 
but  a  lake  ;  but  the  Hebrews  give  the  name  of  sea 
to  any  great  collection  of  waters.  The  same  may 
be  observed  of  the  Dead  sea.  It  is  a  great  lake, 
which  the  Greeks  call  Asphaltitis,  on  account  of  the 
bitumen  it  abounds  with  ;  and  the  Jews  call  it  the 
Dead  sea,  because  fish  cannot  live  in  it.  It  was  in 
this  place,  which  is  now  covered  by  the  lake,  that 
the  cities  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  stood.  After  Jor- 
dan are  reckoned  Jarmach  in  the  country  of  the  Ger- 
gesenes,  which  rises  among  the  mountains  of  Gilead ; 
and  Kirmion,  near  Damascus,  otherwise  called  Jlma- 
nach,  or  Abana ;  to  which  are  added  Pharphar,  which 
runs  down  from  mount  Hermon  ;  Kishon,  which  was 
in  the  tribes  of  Issachar  and  Zabulun  ;  Jlrnon,  which 
comes  from  the  mountain  of  the  same  name,  and 
runs  into  the  Dead  sea  ;  and  Jabok,  which  falls  into 
Jordan. 

This  country  has  several  mountains  ;  the  most 
famous  of  which  are,  Libanus  and  Jlntilibanus,  to 
the  north  ;  the  mountains  of  Gilead,  those  of  the 
Moabites,  Hermon  and  Jlrnon,  to  the  east  ;  the  moun- 
tains of  the  Desert,  to  the  south  ;  and  Carmel,  the 
mountains  of  Ephraim,  and  the  mountains  of  the 
Philistines,  to  the  west.  And  there  are  likewise  some 
in  the  middle  of  Judea,  as  Tabor,  Gerizim,  Ebal,  Sion, 
Moriah,  Hebron,  and  what  the  gospel  calls  the  moun- 
tains of  Judea.  But  to  return  to  the  divisions  before 
mentioned. 

1 .  When  Abraham  went  into  the  land  of  Canaan, 
it  was  inhabited  by  eleven  sorts  of  people,  who,  as 
Moses  tells  us,f  took  their  names  from  the  eleven 
sons  of  Canaan.  They  were  these  : 

The  Sidonians,  descended  from  Sidon  ;  they  pos- 
sessed the  cities  of  Sidon,  Tyre,  Jokneam,  and  Aeon, 
since  called  Ptolemais. 

*  nvn  Ha  Yarden,  the  river  of  Dan,  or  judgment.     \  Gen.  x. 
17* 


198  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  IV. 

The  Jebusites,  from  Jebus  their  parent,  since  called 
the  Philistines  ;  their  cities  were  Lachish,  Gath, 
Ekron,  Ascalon,  Azotus,  Gerar,  and  Debir. 

The  JlmorHeS)  descended  from  Amor ;  who  had 
the  cities  of  Nabah,  Heshbon,  Bozrah,  and  Ramoth- 
Gilead. 

The  Girgashites,  from  Girgas  ;  they  had  the  cities 
of  Damascus,  Maachathi,  Geshur,  Zobah,  Teman, 
Ashteroth,  and  Edrei. 

The  Hivites  from  Heveh  ;  their  cities  are  Jerusa- 
lem, Jericho,  Ai,  Bethel,  Gilead,  Libnah,  Makkeda, 
and  Bezer. 

The  Jlrkites,  descended  from  Arak  ;  who  had  the 
cities  of  Esebon,  Midian,  and  Petra. 

The  Sinites,  who  descended  from  Sin,  and  were 
masters  of  the  cities  of  Admah,  Sodom,  Gomorrah, 
Zeboim,  and  Zoar. 

The  JlrvaditeS)  from  Arad ;  who  possessed  the  cities 
of  Arad,  Jarmuth,  Hebron,  Adullam,  and  Eglon. 

The  Zemarites,  from  Zemar  ;  in  their  territories 
were  built  Samariah,  Tappuah,  Tirzah,  and  Tanai. 

The  Hamathites,  from  Hamath ;  who  had  the  cities 
of  Shimron,  and  Kedesh,  and  Hazor,  and  Hamath. 
To  which  likewise  are  added  the  Perizzites,to  whom 
belonged  the  cities  of  Amalek  and  Bozrah. 

2.  When  the  Israelites  made  themselves  masters 
of  the  land  of  Canaan,  since  from  them  called  the 
land  of  Israel,  the  most  powerful  people  who  inha- 
bited it,  were  the  Amorites,  the  Perizzites,  the  Hi- 
vites, the  Canaanites,  the  Hittites,  the  Jebusites,  and 
the  Girgashites.  It  was  from  them  that  Joshua 
gained  it  by  conquest,  and  he  divided  it  into  twelve 
parts,  which  the  twelve  tribes  drew  by  lot.  The 
tribe  of  Levi  indeed  possessed  no  lands :  God  assign- 
ed the  Levites  the  tenths  and  firstfruits  of  the  estates 
of  their  brethren  :  though  nevertheless  they  had 
some  cities  which  were  dispersed  among  the  other 
tribes,  and  were  therefore  called  Levitical  cities  ;  and 
some  of  them  were  cities  of  refuge,  for  those  who 
should  have  killed  any  one  unawares.  But  though 


Ch.  II.]        Later  Inhabitants  of  Judea.  199 

the  tribe  of  Levi  did  not  partake  of  the  division  of 
the  land,  and  this  division  therefore  was  only  among 
eleven  of  the  sons  of  Jacob,  yet  was  the  land  of 
Israel  divided  into  twelve  portions.  There  were,  I 
say,  twelve  tribes,  notwithstanding,  who  divided  the 
land  of  Canaan  among  them,  inasmuch  as  the  chil- 
dren of  the  two  sons  of  Joseph,  Ephraim,  and  Ma- 
nasseh,  made  two  different  tribes.  Those  of  Reu- 
ben, Gad,  and  a  part  of  that  of  Manasseh,  were  pla- 
ced beyond  Jordan,  towards  Arabia  and  Syria :  the 
rest  settled  on  this  side  of  it. 

The  most  considerable  change  which  took  place 
in  this  country  was  that  which  happened  when  the 
ten  tribes  were  driven  from  it,  and  carried  into  cap- 
tivity by  the  Assyrians.  The  Cutheans,  who  were 
sent  to  possess  their  country,  dwelled  chiefly  in  the 
tribe  of  Ephraim  and  the  half  tribe  of  Manasseh. 
The  tribe  of  Judah  continued  in  captivity  at  Babylon 
seventy  years ;  and  the  Greeks  afterwards  made 
themselves  masters  of  the  empire  of  the  east,  and 
some  of  them,  who  were  kings  of  Syria,  reunited  the 
greatest  part  of  the  country  which  the  tribes  of  Israel 
possessed,  to  their  crown ;  and  by  this  means  (the 
tribe  of  Judah  remaining  alone  after  the  others  were 
dispersed)  the  names  which  the  different  parts  of  the 
land  of  promise  had  received  upon  the  division  Joshua 
made  of  it  among  the  twelve  tribes,  were  changed 
long  before  the  birth  of  Jesus  Christ. 

3.  The  Romans  divided  this  country  into  Pales- 
tine and  Phoenicia.     The  former  contained  the  an- 
cient country  of  the  Philistines,  the  latter  all  the 
maritime  cities  as  far  as  Libanus,  and  made  a  part  of 
the  kingdom  of  Syria. 

4.  In  the  time  of  Jesus  Christ  the  land  of  Israel 
was  divided  into  Judea,  Samaria,  Galilee,  and  Idu- 
mea;  and  there  were  then  several  Galilees,  as  we 
shall  see  presently. 

Judea  contained  a  part  of  the  ancient  tribe  of  Ju- 
dah, and  those  of  Benjamin,  Dan,  and  Simeon.  Its 
breadth  was  from  Jordan  to  the  city  of  Joppa. 


200  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         Part  IV.] 

Idumea,  which  was  south  of  Judea,  between  Arabia 
and  Egypt,  had  been  conquered  by  Hyrcanus ;  and 
this  highpriest  commanded  the  inhabitants  either  to 
be  circumcised,  or  to  leave  their  country ;  upon 
which  they  chose  to  be  circumcised,  and  from  that 
time  their  country  became  a  part  of  Judea  ;  so  that 
it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  if  St.  Mark  reckons  the 
Idumeans  among  those  who  came  to  Jesus  Christ.* 
The  name  of  Idumea  was  at  tirst  given  only  to  the 
country  which  was  possessed  by  Esau,  who  in  He- 
brew is  called  Edom,  that  is,  red.  His  first  descend- 
ants were  at  first  called  Edomites,  and  afterwards 
Idumeans.  We  know  of  no  king  of  Idumea  but 
Esau,  whom  the  Greeks  call  sg&pos,  that  is  to  say, 
red;  and  from  hence  the  Red  sea,  or  Erithrea,  has 
its  name  ;  and  not  from  any  particular  colour  either 
in  its  water  or  its  sand. 

Samaria  was  at  first  only  the  name  of  a  city,  but 
it  became  afterwards  that  of  a  province.  It  contained 
the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  and  the  half  tribe  of  Manasseh, 
which  was  on  this  side  Jordan  ;  so  that  it  was  to  the 
north  of  Judea,  and  between  the  Great  sea,  Galilee, 
and  Jordan ;  and  there  was  therefore  no  going  from 
Galilee  to  Jerusalem  without  passing  through  this 
province. |  Siehem,  called  by  the  Hebrews  Sichar, 
was  its  capital,  and  was  situated  between  the  moun- 
tains Gerizim  and  Ebal.  The  name  of  Sichar  was 
a  term  of  reproach  which  the  Jews  gave  this  city  in 
allusion  to  that  passage  of  Isaiah,  'Wo  to  the  drunk- 
ards of  Ephraim  :'|  for  the  Hebrew  word  the  prophet 
here  makes  use  of  comes  from  Sachar,  which  signifies 
to  get  drunk,  and  St.  John  therefore  calls  this  city  by 
the  name  the  Jews  used  to  do.  Near  it  was  Jacob's 
well. 

Josephus  distinguishes  between  two  Galilees,  the 
upper  and  the  lower :  they  both  join  to  Syria  and 
Phoenicia,  to  the  west ;  Samaria  and  Scythopolis,  as 
far  as  Jordan,  to  the  south;  the  towns  of  Hippus  and 
Gadara,  and  the  territory  of  Gaulonitis,  to  the  east  : 
*  Mark  iii,  8.  t  John  iv,  4.  1  Isaiah  xxviii,  1. 


Ch.  II.]  Divisions  of  Judea.  201 

and  Tyre  and  its  territory  to  the  north ;  so  that  Gali- 
lee contained  the  tribes  of  Issachar,  Zabulun,  Asher, 
and  Naphtali,  except  Paneadis,  which  took  its  name 
from  the  city  of  Paneas,  formerly  Dan,  and  since 
called  Cesarea  Philippi,  situated  at  the  foot  of  mount 
Libanns :  all  this  latter  territory  is  out  of  Galilee. 
This  province  had  the  happiness  to  receive  the  light 
of  the  gospel  the  first  of  any :  it  then  contained  a 
great  number  of  very  populous  cities.  Josephus, 
from  whom  we  take  this  account,  reckons  up  to  the 
number  of  two  hundred  and  four  cities  or  villages ; 
the  least  of  which  had  above  fifteen  thousand  in- 
habitants. 

The  country  that  the  tribes  of  Reuben  and  Gad 
possessed  beyond  Jordan  was  called  Perea,  which 
signifies  a  distant  province,  because  it  was  beyond  Jor- 
dan. Its  length,  according  to  Josephus,*  was  from 
the  city  of  Macheron  to  that  of  Pella ;  and  its  breadth, 
from  Philadelphia,  a  country  of  the  ancient  Moabites, 
to  Jordan.  Pella  was  to  the  north  of  it ;  Jordan  to 
the  west ;  the  country  of  the  Moabites  to  the  south ; 
and  Arabia  to  the  east.  The  country  which  ex- 
tends towards  Libanus  northwards,  and  towards  the 
mountains  of  Hermon  eastwards  near  Damascus, 
was  the  portion  of  the  half  tribe  of  Manasseh ;  but 
afterwards  it  comprehended  Gaulonitis,  so  called  from 
the  £ity  of  Gaulon,  (which  Josephus  makes  to  have 
been  two  cities,  the  upper  and  the  lower  ;f)  Bataiiea, 
which  was  formerly  the  kingdom  of  Bashan ;  and 
Trachonitis,  which  took  its  name  from  the  craggy 
mountains  with  which  it  abounded.  Strabo  says  it 
touched  upon  Celosyria.  To  the  north  lay  Auranitis, 
which  took  its  name  from  the  city  of  Auran,  which 
was  situated  between  Cesarea  and  Damascus.  And 
near  it  was  Iturea,  which  joined  to  Celosyria,  be- 
yond mount  Libanus.  Pliny  places  Iturea  in  Celo- 
syria itself;  and  Adricomius  says,  Iturea  begins  at 
Jordan,  and  extends  all  along  Libanus,  as  far  as  to 
the  mountains  of  Tyre  and  Sidon  towards  the  west. 

*  Wars  of  the  Jews,  b.  iii,  c.  3.     f  Ibid.  b.  i,  c.  1. 


202  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  IV. 

So  that  they  must  be  mistaken  who  place  Iturea  in 
Perea.  They  found  their  opinion  indeed  upon  what 
the  Scripture  tells  us  of  the  Itureans  having  assisted 
the  tribes  of  Reuben  and  Gad  ;  but  it  does  not  follow 
from  thence  that  Iturea  was  in  the  middle  of  those 
tribes,  or  even  in  their  neighbourhood.  Perea  was 
subject  to  Herod  the  tetrarch  ;  and  the  gospel  tells 
us  that  Iturea  was  a  part  of  Philip's  tetrarchy.* 

But  besides  these,  there  was  yet  another  canton  in 
Judea,  which  was  called  Decapolis,  because  it  con- 
tained ten  cities,  whose  inhabitants  lived  after  the 
Grecian  manner,  arid  Josephus  therefore  calls  them 
Grecian  cities.  Pliny  reckons  among  the  cities  of 
Decapolis,  Damascus,  Opoton,  Philadelphia,  Rapha- 
na,  Scythopolis,  Gadara,  and  Hippus  ;  and  Josephus 
tells  usf  that  Cesar  separated  Gaza,  Gadara,  and 
Hippus,  from  the  kingdom  of  Judea,  and  joined  them 
to  Syria.  But  those  geographers  who  place  Caper- 
naum, Corazin,  Bethsaida,  and  Cesarea  Philippi  in 
Decapolis,  are  certainly  mistaken  ;  though  it  be  true, 
that  some  of  those  ten  cities  were  round  about  the 
sea  of  Tiberias  and  Jordan  ;  and  that  Josephus  there- 
fore says  that  Galilee  was  encompassed  with  stran- 
g'ers.  Agreeably  to  which,  he  says  in  another  place, 
that  the  Gentiles  killed  a  great  number  of  the  Jews 
in  the  cities  of  Scythopolis,  Gadara,  and  Hippus  ; 
and  it  is  probably  cities  of  this  kind  that  the  gospel 
means  by  the  name  of  '  Galilee  of  the  Gentiles.' 

Gadara,  the  metropolis  of  Perea,  according  to 
Strabo,  gave  the  name  of  Gadarenes  to  its  territory, 
in  like  manner  as  that  of  Gergesenes  came  from  the 
city  of  Gergesa.  These  two  little  countries  were  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  each  other ;  and  it  ought  not 
therefore  to  be  wondered  at,  that  in  the  relation  of 
the  same  miracle,  St.  Mark  and  St.  Luke^:  should  say, 
that  Jesus  Christ  did  it  in  the  country  of  the  Gada- 
renes, and  St.  Matthew§  in  that  of  the  Gergesenes  : 
nor  is  it  any  thing  more  strange,  that  these  people 

*  Luke  iii,  1.  f  Antiq.  b.  xvii,  c.  1 1,  s.  4,  and,  Wars  of  the  Jews, 
K  ii,  c.  6,  s.  3.  1  Mark  v,  2.  Luke  viii,  26.  §  Matt,  viii,  28. 


Ch.  II.]  Divisions  ofJudea.  203 

should  keep  swine,  since  they  were  Gentiles.  And 
we  find  likewise  in  the  same  relation  of  the  evange- 
lists, a  proof  that  Gadara  and  Gergesa  were  parts  of 
Decapolis.  For  St.  Mark  says,*  that  the  demoniac, 
who  was  delivered  from  the  unclean  spirits  which 
Jesus  Christ  permitted  to  go  into  the  herd  of  swine, 
published  the  miracles  which  Jesus  Christ  had  wrought 
in  his  favour,  iu  Decapolis  ;  whereas  St.  Matthew  and 
St.  Lukef  only  say,  that  he  published  them  *  through- 
out the  whole  city,'  that  is,  either  in  Gadara  or  Ger- 
gesa. 

These  two  cities  were  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a 
lake  which  was  called  Genesareth,  from  the  city  of 
Chinnereth.  This  lake  the  book  of  Joshua |  places  in 
the  tribe  of  Naphtali ;  and  in  Numbers§  it  is  called 
the  sea  of  Chinnereth  ;  for  both  this  passage,  and 
that  in  Joshua,  are  to  be  understood  of  this  lake. 
Afterwards  the  name  of  Genesareth  was  given  both 
to  the  lake  and  the  country  round  about  it ;  which, 
as  Josephus  testifies,  ||  was  watered  by  a  spring  called 
Capernaum  ;  whence  without  doubt  the  city  so  called 
had  its  name.     The  sea  of  Genesareth,  as  the  He- 
brews speak,  was  likewise  called  the  sea  of  Tiberias, 
from   the  city  of  that   name  which    stood  near  it. 
Some  have  thought  that  the  city  of  Tiberias  was  the 
ancient  Chinnereth  ;  but  it  is  a  mistake.     Josephus 
expressly  says  that  Herod  built  it  in  a  place  where 
there  was  no  city  before.    "  Herod  the  tetrarch,"  says 
he,  "  to  testify  his  gratitude  to  Tiberius,  who  honour- 
ed him  with  his  friendship,  chose  out  an  agreeable 
place  upon  the  borders  of  the  lake  called  Genesareth, 
and  there  he  built  a  city  which  he  called  Tiberius."** 
Celosyria  is  without  the  borders  of  Judea,  but  joins 
to  them ;  one  part  of  it  is  called  Abilene,  from  the 
city  Abila,  its  capital ;  which  I  observe,  because  this 
little  province  was  a  part  of  Herod  the  Great's  king- 
dom ;  and  St.  Luke,  ft  speaking  of  the  princes  who 
governed  at  the  time  that  St.  John  began  to  preach, 

*  Mark  v,  20.  |  Matt,  viii,  33.  Luke  viii,  39.  {  Josh,  xii,  3.  §  Numb, 
xxxiv,  11.  ||  Wars  of  the  Jews,  b.  iii,  ch.  1 0,  s.  8.  *  *  Antiq.  b.  xriu, 
c.  2,  s.  3.  ft  Luke  iii,  1. 


204  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         Part  IV.] 

mentions  it.  This  king,  under  whom  Jesus  Christ 
was  born,  possessed  Idumea,  Judea,  Samaria,  Perea, 
Galilee,  Peneadis,  Gaulonitis,  Batanea,  Trachonitis, 
Auranitis,  and  Abilene. 

5.  When  he  died  he  divided  all  his  dominions  among 
his  three  sons,  Archelaus,  Herod  Antipas,  and  Philip. 
He  gave  Archelaus  the  kingdom  which  contained 
Idumea,  Judea,  and  Samaria.  He  gave  Herod  Gali- 
lee and  Perea,  under  the  name  of  a  tetrarchy ;  which 
was  a  dignity  that  held  the  fourth  place  in  the  Roman 
empire,  after  emperors,  proconsuls,  a/id  kings.  And 
Philip  had  Gaulonitis,  Trachonitis,  Bfttanea,  and  Pa- 
neadis,  with  the  same  title.  This  is  Josephus's  ac- 
count of  it ;  but  St.  Luke  makes  Iturea  a  part  of 
Philip's  tetrarchy.  Perhaps  Josephus  confounds  Itu- 
rea and  Auranitis  under  the  general  name  of  Paneadis. 
Herod  likewise  gave  Salome,  his  sister,  the  cities  of 
Jamnia,  Azotus,  and  Phazealis. 

As  soon  as  Herod  was  dead  Archelaus  was  pro- 
claimed king  :  and  the  fear  that  the  new  king  was  of 
the  same  opinion,  with  relation  to  the  child  Jesus,  as 
his  father  had  been,  made  Joseph  and  Mary  retire  to 
Nazareth,  upon  their  return  from  Egypt.* 


CHAPTER  III. 

Of  the  different  Ways  of  Measuring  Time  among  the 
Hebrews : — their  Hours,  Days,  Weeks,  Months, 
Years,  and  Jubilee. 

GOD,  who  formed  the  republic  of  the  Hebrews, 
appointed  certain  fixed  and  regular  times  for  the  per- 
formance of  things,  without  which  all  would  neces- 
sarily have  run  into  disorder  and  confusion.  And 
this  appointment  was  the  more  necessary,  in  that  he 
prescribed  the  performance  of  certain  sacrifices  and 
festivals  ;  both  which  he  fixed  to  certain  days.  But 
it  would  be  very  difficult  to  form  a  clear  notion  of 

*  Matt,  ii,  22, 23. 


Ch.  III.]       Their  Measurement  of  Time.  205 

them,  if  we  knew  not  the  manner  in  which  the  He- 
brews regulated  and  measured  time.  For  though 
all  people  make  use  of  almost  the  same  terms,  yet 
these  terms  have  very  different  significations  ;  so  that 
our  hours,  days,  months,  and  years,  are  very  differ- 
ent from  those  of  the  Hebrews  ;  and  we  shall  there- 
fore in  this  chapter  speak,  first,  of  days  ;  secondly, 
of  weeks  ;  thirdly,  of  months  ;  fourthly,  of  years. 

First,  of  days.  Time  is  the  measure  of  the  dura- 
tion of  things  ;  which  duration  we  judge  of,  by  the 
relation  it  bears  to  the  course  of  the  planets  ;  that 
is,  we  say  a  thing  has  had  a  longer  or  shorter  dura- 
tion, in  proportion  as  certain  planets  have  made  more 
or  fewer  revolutions  during  its  subsistence.  The 
time  in  which  the  earth  revolves  round  its  own  axis 
from  west  to  east,  is  termed  a  day.  But  some  begin 
the  day  at  noon,  others  at  midnight ;  some  at  sun- 
rising,  and  others  at  sunset.  The  Hebrews  follow 
this  last  method  ;  that  is  to  say,  with  them  the  day 
begins  at  sunset,  and  ends  the  next  day  at  the  same 
time.*  Whence  it  is  that  we  read  in  the  gospels, 
that  the  sick  were  not  brought  out  to  Jesus  Christ, 
on  the  sabbath  days,  till  after  sunset  ;f  which  was 
because  the  sabbath  was  then  ended,  and  the  Jews, 
who  were  scrupulously  exact  in  observing  it,  were 
no  longer  afraid  of  any  violation  of  it. 

And  it  was  likewise  customary  with  the  Hebrews, 
to  express  a  whole  day  by  the  terms,  the  evening  and 
the  morning ;\  or  by  these,  the  night  and  the  day: 
which  the  Greeks  express  by  their  Nuchthemeron, 
and  which  as  well  signifies  any  particular  part  of  the 
day  or  night,  as  the  whole  of  it.  And  this  is  the 
reason  why  a  thing  that  has  lasted  two  nights  and 
one  whole  day,  and  a  part  only  of  the  preceding 
and  following  days,  is  said  by  the  Hebrews  to  have 
lasted  three  days  and  three  nights. § 

*  Exod.  xii,  18.  Lev.  xxiii,  32.  From  which  last  text  it  is  evident 
that  the  sabbath  began  at  the  evening  or  sunset  of  the  day  we  term 
Friday,  and  ended  at  the  same  time  on  the  following  day. 

t  Matt,  viii,  16.  Mark  i,  32.  J  Gen.  i,  5,  8, 13, 19, 23,  U.  §  Matt 
xii,  40. 

18 


206  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  IV. 

It  is  with  time  as  with  places,  with  respect  to  its  di- 
vision :  it  is  purely  arbitrary.  Formerly  the  Hebrews 
and  'Greeks  divided  the  day  only  according  to  the 
three  sensible  differences  of  the  sun,  when  it  rises, 
when  it  is  at  the  highest  point  of  elevation  above  the 
horizon,  and  when  it  sets ;  that  is,  they  divided  the 
day  only  into  morning,  noon,  and  night.  And  these 
are  the  only  parts  of  a  day  which  we  find  mentioned 
in  the  Old  Testament ;  the  day  not  being  yet  divided 
into  twenty-four  hours.  Since  that,  the  Jews  and 
Romans  divided  the  day,  that  is,  the  space  between 
the  rising  and  setting  of  the  sun,  into  four  parts,  con- 
sisting each  of  three  hours.  But  these  hours  were 
different  from  ours  in  this,  that  ours  are  always  equal, 
being  always  the  four-and-twentieth  part  of  the  day; 
whereas  with  them  the  hour  was  a  twelfth  part  of  the 
time  which  the  sun  continues  above  the  horizon. 
And  as  this  time  is  longer  in  summer  than  in  winter, 
their  summer  hours  must  therefore  be  longer  than 
their  winter  ones.  The  first  hour  began  at  sunrising, 
noon  was  the  sixth,  and  the  twelfth  ended  at  sunset. 
The  third  hour  divided  the  space  between  sunrising 
and  noon ;  the  ninth  divided  that  which  was  between 
noon  and  sunset.  And  it  is  with  relation  to  this  divi- 
sion of  the  day  that  Jesus  Christ  says  in  the  gospel, 
*  Are  there  not  twelve  hours  in  the  day  ?'* 

The  Flebrews  likewise  distinguished  between  two 
evenings.  The  first  began  at  noon,  when  the  sun 
begins  to  decline,  and  reached  to  its  setting ;  the 
second  began  at  that  setting ;  and  they  call  the  space 
of  time  between  these  two,  that  is,  from  noon  to 
sunset,f  Been  Haarbaeem,  that  is,  between  the  two 
evenings.  J 

The  night  was  likewise  divided  by  the  Hebrews 
into  four  parts.  These  were  called  watches,  and 

*  John  xi,  9. 

t  Or  rather,  the  ninth  hour,  which  is  the  middle  point  between  them, 
is  what  they  called  between  the  evenings.  Lamy,  de  Tabern.  I.  7, 
c.  7,  §  1. 

J  Exod.  xii,  6.  a^^'H  {'3  &e«i  haarbacem  improperly  translated 
in  the  evening  in  our  English  Bibles. 


Ch.  III.]  Days  of  the  Week.  207 

lasted  each  three  hours.  The  first  is  called  by  Jere- 
miah the  beginning  of  the  watches;*  the  second  is  called 
in  the  book  of  Judges  the  middle  watch  ;f  because  it 
lasted  till  the  middle  of  the  night.  The  beginning  of 
the  third  watch  was  at  midnight,  and  it  lasted  till 
three  in  the  morning  ;  and  the  fourth^,  was  called  the 
morning  ioatch.§  The  first  of  these  four  parts  of  the 
night  began  at  sunset,  and  lasted  till  nine  at  night, 
according  to  our  way  of  reckoning;  the  second 
lasted  till  midnight ;  the  third  till  three  in  the  morn- 
ing; and  the  fourth  ended  at  sunrising.  The  Scrip- 
ture sometimes  gives  them  other  names  ;  it  calls  the 
first  the  evening,  the  second  midnight,  the  third  cock- 
crowing,  and  the  fourth  the  morning.\\ 

Secondly^  the  Hebrews,  like  us,  make  their  weeks 
to  consist  of  seven  days,  six  of  which  are  appointed 
for  labour;  but  they  were  not  suffered  to  do  any  work 
on  the  seventh  day,  which  was  therefore  called  the 
sabbath,  that  is,  a  day  of  rest. 

The  observation  of  the  sabbath  began  with  the 
world.  God,  after  he  had  employed  six  days  in 
making  the  universe  out  of  nothing,  rested  the  seventh 
day,  and  therefore  appointed  it  to  be  a  day  of  rest.** 
But  this  term  sabbath  is  likewise  sometimes  taken  for 
the  whole  week.  And  from  hence  it  is,  that  the 
Pharisee,  when  he  would  express  his  fasting  twice  in 
a  week,  says  that  he  fasted  twice  every  sabbath.^ 

The  days  of  the  week  have  no  other  names  but 
those  of  their  order,  the  first,  second,  third,  &c.,  from 
the  sabbath ;  and  therefore  as  the  Hebrews  express 
one  and  the  first  by  the  same  word,  una  sabbati  is  with 
them  the  first  day  of  the  week.  But  nevertheless  the 
Hellenist  Jews  have  a  particular  name  for  the  sixth 
day,  that  is,  for  the  vigil  of  the  sabbath,  and  call  it 
paraskeue,  that  is,  the  preparation. || 

But  besides  this  week  of  days,  the  Hebrews  had 
another  week,  which  consisted  of  seven  years ;  the 

*  Lam.  ii,  19.  f  Judg.  vii,  19.  J  Matt,  xir,  25.  §  Exod.  xiv,  24. 
||  Mark  xiii,  35.  **Gen.  ii,  2,  3.  ft  L"ke  xviii»  12-  *irevu  llf  T<"' 
aa66arov.  JJ  Mark  XV,  42.  napaoKCvn,  °  £?*  irpotrafHiaTov. 


208  Manners  of  the  Israelites.        [Part  IV. 

last  of  which  was  a  year  of  rest,  and  was  called  the 
sabbatical  year.  The  earth  rested  on  this  year,  and 
no  one  was  suffered  to  cultivate  it.  And  at  the  end 
of  seven  weeks  of  years,  that  is,  after  forty-nine  years, 
the  forty-ninth  year  was  called  the  year  of  jubilee. 
Some  think  it  was  the  fiftieth  year,  but  they  are  mis- 
taken. It  is  true,  that  according  to  the  common 
manner  of  speaking  in  the  Scripture,  the  year  of 
jubilee  is  the  fiftieth  year ;  as  the  sabbath  day  is  called 
the  eighth  day,  that  is,  reckoning  from  one  sabbath  to 
another,  inclusively  of  both.  And  in  the  same  man- 
ner the  Olympiads,  which  contained  the  space  of  four 
years,  are  called  quinquennium,  the  space  of  jive  years; 
because  by  one  Olympiad  was  ordinarily  understood 
the  space  contained  between  the  two  Olympiads,  with 
which  it  began  and  ended,  reckoning  the  beginning 
of  the  latter  as  included  in  the  former. 

Thirdly.  It  is  certain  that  at  first  the  months  were 
regulated  by  the  moon ;  because  the  intervals  of  time 
are  most  easily  distinguished  by  the  course  of  this 
planet.  When  it  is  before  the  sun,  it  is  as  it  were 
swallowed  up  in  its  rays  ;  but  as  soon  as  it  begins  to 
separate  from  it,  its  crescent  begins  to  show  itself, 
and  increases  insensibly,  till  at  last  its  whole  disk  be- 
comes luminous,  and  then  it  is  at  full ;  after  which 
its  light  diminishes,  and  returns  through  the  same 
phases  to  its  first  crescent,  and  then  it  re-enters  the 
rays  of  the  sun. 

And  as  the  moon  regulates  the  months,  so  does  the 
sun  the  year;  and  the  division  which  we  make  of  the 
year  into  twelve  months,  has  no  relation  to  the 
motion  of  the  moon.  But  it  was  not  so  with  the 
Hebrews ;  their  months  are  lunar,  and  their  name 
sufficiently  shows  it.  They  call. them  Yarchin,  which 
comes  from  Fame,  which  signifies  the  moon.  It  is 
disputed,  whether  the  antediluvian  months  were  not 
rather  regulated  by  the  sun ;  that  is,  whether  they 
were  not  all  equal,  so  that  each  contained  the  twelfth 
part  of  a  year ;  but  learned  men  are  agreed,  that  from 
the  time  of  Moses  the  Jewish  months  have  been 


Ch.  III.]  Of  the  Neic  Moms.  209 

lunar.  They  do  not  reckon  the  beginning  of  them 
from  the  time  that  the  moon  joins  the  sun,  because 
that  planet  then  disappears  ;  but  they  begin  it,  at 
her  first  phasis,  as  soon  as  upon  her  separation  from 
the  sun,  she  first  shows  herself  in  the  west,  after  sun- 
set. And  for  this  reason  they  call  the  beginning  of 
the  month,  the  new  moon;  though  the  Latin  inter- 
preter, to  accommodate  himself  to  the  Roman  style, 
calls  it  the  calends.*  The  moment  in  which  this 
conjunction  between  the  sun  and  moon  is  made,  can 
only  be  known  by  an  astronomical  calculation,  be- 
cause she  does  not  then  appear  ;  and  because  the 
Hebrews  were  little  skilled  in  this  science,  especially 
at  the  first  forming  of  their  republic,  God  therefore 
commands  them  to  begin  their  months  at  the  first 
phasis,  or  first  appearance  of  the  moon,  which  re- 
quired no  learning  to  discover  it.  And  because  this 
first  appearance  of  the  moon  was  of  importance  in 
their  religion,  God  having  commanded  that  the  new 
moon  should  be  a  festival,  and  that  they  should  offer 
up  a  particular  sacrifice  to  him  on  that  day  ;f  it  can- 
not therefore  be  improper,  to  give  some  account 
here  of  the  care  the  Hebrews  took  to  discover  this 
new  moon. 

And  in  the  first  place,  this  was  an  affair  in  which 
the  great  sanhedrim  was  concerned :  there  were 
always  some  of  that  body  who  applied  themselves 
to  astronomy  ;  and  the  different  phases  of  the  moon 
were  likewise  painted  upon  the  hall  in  which  the 
sanhedrim  assembled.  And  in  the  second  place,  it 
belonged  to  them  to  choose  men  of  the  strictest 
probity,  who  were  sent  to  the  tops  of  the  neighbour- 
ing mountains  at  the  time  of  the  conjunction ;  and 
who  no  sooner  perceived  the  new  moon,  but  they 
came  with  all  speed,  even  on  the  sabbath  day  itself, 
to  acquaint  the  sanhedrim  with  it.  It  was  the  busi- 
ness of  that  council  to  examine  whether  the  moon 
had  appeared,  and  to  declare  it  ;  which  was  done  by 

*  Numb,  x,  10.    Siquando  habebitis  cpulum  &  dies  festos  &  calendas, 
&c.     Seethe  Vulgate.     fNumb.  xxviii,  11. 
18* 


210  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  IV. 

pronouncing  these  words,  The  feast  of  the  new  moon, 
The  feast  of  the  new  moon ;  and  all  the  people  were 
informed  of  it  by  the  sound  of  trumpets.  To  which 
ceremony  David  alludes,  when  he  says,  « Blow  the 
trumpet  in  the  new  moon,  in  the  time  appointed, 
on  our  solemn  feast-day.*  The  air  is  so  serene  in 
Judea,  that  it  seldom  happened  that  the  clouds  hid 
the  moon :  but  when  it  did  so  happen,  the  error  it 
occasioned  was  immediately  rectified,  and  not  suf- 
fered to  pass  into  the  next  month.  The  decrees  oi 
the  sanhedrim  on  this,  as  well  as  on  other  occasions, 
were  so  revered,  that  the  Jews  say  they  ought  to  be 
obeyed,  even  when  they  are  mistaken. 

From  what  has  been  said  of  the  course  of  the 
moon,  it  appears  that  there  are  two  sorts  of  months  ; 
the  one,  which  is  regulated  by  the  circle  which  the 
moon  describes,  and  takes  up  twenty-seven  days, 
seven  hours,  and  some  minutes,  which  is  called  the 
periodical  month ;  and  another,  which  is  measured 
by  the  space  between  two  conjunctions  of  the  moon 
with  the  sun,  which  is  called  the  synodical  month, 
and  consists  of  twenty-nine  days,  twelve  hours,  forty- 
four  minutes,  and  some  seconds.  This  last  is  the 
most  popular  and  only  in  use  ;  because  the  phases 
of  the  moon  are  most  proper  to  distinguish  the  be- 
ginning, middle,  and  end  of  it.  The  hours  which 
exceed  nine  and  twenty  days,  make  the  months  al- 
ternately one  of  nine  and  twenty  days,  and  one  of 
thirty.  Formerly  the  sanhedrim  settled  the  number 
of  days  in  each  month  ;  but  now  the  Jews  follow 
the  common  calculation,  and  their  months  are  one 
of  nine  and  twenty  days,  and  another  of  thirty. 

Fourthly,  Nothing  now  remains  upon  this  subject, 
but  to  speak  of  the  Jewish  year.  Concerning  which, 
I  shall  not  enter  into  the  dispute  whether  they  used 
the  solar,  or  the  lunar  one,  because  it  is  certain  that 
they  were  both  in  use  among  them.  I  only  observe, 
that  they  took  a  very  particular  care,  that  the  first 
month  of  their  sacred  year,  that  is,  of  the  year  where- 
*  Psalm  Ixxxi,  3. 


Ch.  III.]  Of  the  Jewish  Year.  211 

by  their  festivals  and  religion  were  regulated,  did 
never  expire  before  the  equinox ;  and  that,  without 
this  precaution,  they  would  have  solemnized  the 
same  festivals  twice  in  the  same  solar  year.  So  that 
the  equinox  was  a  fixed  point,  which  the  Jews  made 
use  of  to  regulate  their  years  by  ;  and  they  did  it  in 
this  manner : 

The  two  equinoxes  began  each  a  different  year. 
The  new  moon,  which  followed  the  autumnal  equi- 
nox, after  the  fruits  were  gathered  in,  began  the  civil 
year  ;  the  common  opinion  concerning  which  is,  that 
the  world  was  created  in  this  season,  and  this  was 
formerly  the  first  month  in  the  Jewish  year.     But 
after  the  Jews  came  out  of  Egypt,  Moses,  to  pre- 
serve the  memory  of  their  deliverance,  commanded, 
that  the  month  in  which  that  deliverance  was  wrought 
(which  was  in  the  time  when  the  earth  opens  her 
bosom,  and  all  things  begin  to  bud)  should  have  the 
first  rank;  and  by  this  means  the  vernal  equinox 
began  a  second  year,  which  was  called  the  sacrerf,  or 
the  ecclesiastical  year.     But  though  these  years  have 
different  beginnings,  yet  they  both  consist  of  twelve 
months,  which  are  according  to  their  order  called, 
the  first,  second,  third,   &c.     And  formerly  there 
was  none  of  them  had  any  particular  name,  but  the 
two  equinoctial  ones,  and  they  were  called,  the  ver- 
nal one,  Jlbib,  which  signifies  a  green  ear  of  corn : 
and  the  autumnal  one,  Ethanim.     But  about  the  time 
of  the  captivity,  each  month  had  a  particular  name. 
The  names  were  these  :   the  first  month,  formerly 
called  Mib,  was  called  Nisan ;  the  second,  lyar ; 
the  third,  Swan ;  the  fourth,  Tamuz ;  the  fifth,  Jib  ; 
the  sixth,  EM ;  the  seventh,  Tisri ;  the  eighth,  Mar- 
chesvan ;  the  ninth,  Cisleu ;  the  tenth,   Tebeth;  the 
eleventh,  Shebat ';  the  twelfth,  Jldar.     Nevertheless, 
there  were  some  years  in  which  they  added  a  thir- 
teenth month,  which  was  called  Feadar,  or  the  second 
Mar.     Nor  were  the  planets  only  made  use  of  to 
distinguish  time  ;    it  was  likewise  distinguished  by 
the  different  seasons  which  succeeded  one  another, 


212  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  IV. 

as  well  as  by  them.  After  the  earth  has  closed  up 
her  bosom  in  the  winter,  she  opens  it  in  the  spring, 
and  brings  forth  herbs  ;  and  then,  during  the  summer, 
the  sun  warms  it,  thereby  to  ripen  the  corn  and  fruits, 
that  they  may  be  gathered  in  before  the  return  of  the 
winter.  Which  difference  of  the  seasons  arises  from 
the  sun's  nearness  to,  or  distance  from  our  tropic, 
according  to  which,  it  continues  more  or  less  time 
above  the  horizon. 

But,  that  all  this  may  be  the  better  understood,  it 
is  necessary  that  we  briefly  explain  the  first  principles 
of  the  sphere.  Between  the  poles  of  the  world  the 
astronomers  have  feigned  a  circle,  which  cuts  the 
sphere  into  two  equal  parts,  and  to  which  they  give 
the  name  of  the  equinoctial.  And  at  a  certain  distance 
from  this  they  have  made  another  line  on  each  side 
of  it,  which  they  call  the  tropics  ;  to  which  they  add 
a  fourth,  which  they  draw  from  one  of  these  tropics 
to  the  other,  and  which  cuts  the  equinoctial  obliquely 
in  two  opposite  points  ;  and  this  they  call  the  zodiac. 
And  upon  this  zodiac  they  have  marked  out  four  prin- 
cipal points  ;  two  in  the  places  where  it  touches  the 
tropics,  and  the  other  two  in  its  sections  of  the  equi- 
noctial ;  and  by  this  means  they  explain  the  length  of 
the  year,  the  difference  of  the  seasons,  and  the  ine- 
quality of  days  and  nights.  For  the  year  is  nothing 
else  but  the  space  of  time  which  the  sun  takes  up  in 
running  through  the  zodiac.  When  it  is  at  the  points 
which  cut  the  equinoctial  the  days  and  nights  are 
equal,  and  we  then  have  spring  or  autumn.  When  it 
advances  towards  our  pole,  and  comes  to  our  tropic, 
we  then  have  summer;  and  when  it  returns  back, 
and,  repassing  the  equinoctial,  otherwise  called  the 
line,  comes  to  the  other  tropic,  we  then  have  winter. 
Of  these  four  points,  the  two  which  touch  the  tropics 
are  called  solstices,  and  those  which  cut  the  equinoctial 
are  called  equinoxes. 

The  ancient  astronomers  thought  that  the  sun  took 
up  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days  and  six  hours  : 
which  six  hours  they  joined  together  every  fourth 


Ch.  III.]  Of  the  Jewish  Year.  213 

year,  and  making  a  day  of  them,  inserted  it  in  the 
month  of  February.  And  the  first  day  of  the  month 
was  then  by  the  Romans  called  the  calends ;  and  they 
reckoning  back  wards,  into  the  days  of  the  preceding 
month,  called  them  the  first,  second,  third,  &c.,  of  the 
calends.  And  this  additional  day  being  made  the  sixth 
of  the  calends  of  JWarch,  and  they  reckoning  on  these 
years  two  sixth  days  of  these  calends,  this  was  the 
reason  why  the  years,  in  which  these  additional  days 
were  inserted,  were  called  bissextile.  So  that  every 
four  years  the  month  of  February,  which  ordinarily 
consisted  of  twenty-eight  days,  had  a  day  added  to 
it,  and  was  made  to  consist  of  twenty-nine.  But  the 
astronomers  of  latter  ages,  having  made  more  exact 
observations,  have  found  that  the  year  was  not  so 
long  by  eleven  minutes  :  a  difference  which,  how  in- 
considerable soever  it  may  appear,  did  yet  introduce 
a  confusion  in  the  seasons  of  the  year  in  a  succession 
of  several  ages.  So  that  the  vernal  equinox,  which, 
at  the  time  of  the  council  of  Nice,  fell  on  the  twen- 
tieth or  twenty-first  day  of  March,  was  found  to  fall, 
in  the  sixteenth  century,  on  the  tenth  or  eleventh. 
For,  the  reason  why  the  equinox  at  any  time  advances 
or  goes  back  a  day,  is  the  difference  between  the 
bissextile  and  the  common  year.  And  in  order  there- 
fore to  put  a  stop  to  this  disorder,  which  in  time 
would  have  thrown  back  the  month  of  April,  in  which 
nature  awakes,  and  begins  to  dress  herself  in  her 
vernal  ornaments,  into  the  midst  of  winter,  the 
calender  was  reformed  about  the  end  of  the  fifteenth 
century,*  and  by  retrenching  ten  days,  the  equinoxes 
were  brought  back  to  the  same  points  they  were  at 
at  the  council  of  Nice.  And  they  have  likewise  re- 
trenched one  bissextile  every  hundred  years,  (which 
nevertheless  continues  to  be  ordinarily  placed  every 
fourth  year  as  before,)  because  that,  in  the  space  ol 
four  centuries,  the  eleven  minutes  every  year  (as 
above  mentioned)  are  so  far  from  making  four  com- 

*  This  was  done  in  the  year  1512,  during  the  pontificate  of  Gregory 
XII,  therefore  called  the  Gregorian,  or  JVeu>  Style. 


214  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  IV. 

plete  days,  that  they  make  but  little  more  than  three  ; 
and  by  this  means  the  points  of  the  equinoxes  are  so 
fixed  for  the  future,  that  they  can  never  vary  again. 
The  reader  will,  I  hope,  pardon  this  digression  which 
I  make,  because  it  may  be  doubtless  of  some  assist- 
ance to  those  who  have  not  thoroughly  studied  these 
matters. 

Let  us  now  see  by  whattneans  the  Jews  regulated 
their  year  so  exactly  that  its  first  month  always  came 
in  the  spring.  There  were  two  reasons  that  enga- 
ged them  to  be  extremely  exact  in  this  matter  :  the 
one  of  which  was,  that  the  law  obliged  them  to  offer 
up  to  God  a  sheaf  of  ripe  barley,  or  at  least  of  such  as 
was  pretty  nearly  ripe,  in  this  first  month  ;  and  the 
other  was,  that  the  passover,  which  fell  on  the  four- 
teenth day  of  this  month,  could  not  be  celebrated 
without  offering  up  an  infinite  number  of  lambs, 
which  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  have  had  in 
winter.  And  it  was  therefore  necessary  that  this  first 
month,  in  which  the  feast  of  the  passover  was  cele- 
brated, should  not  be  entirely  passed  before  the  ver- 
nal equinox,  and  that  it  should  always  fall  in  the  same 
season  of  the  year. 

In  the  mean  time,  twelve  lunar  months  make  but 
three  hundred  and  fifty-four  days,  eight  hours,  forty- 
nine  minutes,  and  some  seconds.  And  consequently 
this  year  must  be  shorter  than  the  solar  one  by  ele- 
ven days,  some  hours,  and  some  minutes.  But  it 
has  been  already  said,  that  the  Jews  regulated  their 
months  by  the  phases  of  the  moon,  and  not  by  any 
astronomical  calculations.  And  when  therefore  their 
twelfth  month  was  ended,  and  they  found  that  their 
spring  was  not  yet  come,  the  next  new  moon  was 
not  made  to  belong  to  the  first  month,  but  to  a  thir- 
teenth which  they  inserted,  and  therefore  called,  the 
intercalary  month.  And  this  they  did  so  exactly,  that 
the  full  of  the  moon  of  the  month  Nisan  never  came 
before  the  equinox,  that  is,  before  the  day  when  the 
sun,  entering  the  first  degree  of  wSries,  makes  the 
days  and  nights  equal. 


Oh.  III.]  Of  the  Jewish  Year.  215 

But  that  I  may  give  all  the  necessary  light  that  is 
wanting  in  this  affair,  I  shall  observe,  that  the  Jews 
have  four  sorts  of  years,  or  rather,  that  each  year 
has  four  beginnings.  That  of  the  civil  year  was  in 
the  month  Tisri  ;  that  of  the  sacred  year,  in  the  month 
JVisan ;  that  of  the  tithe  of  the  cattle,  in  the  month 
EM,  that  is  to  say,  according  to  the  rabbins,  that 
they  began  from  this  month  to  take  an  account  of 
all  the  cattle  which  were  born,  that  they  might  offer 
the  tithe  of  them  to  God  ;*  and  lastly,  that  of  trees, 
which  was  on  the  first  or  fifteenth  of  the  month  She- 
bat.  For  the  same  rabbins  likewise  say,  that  the  law 
having  commanded  that  the  fruit  of  a  tree  newly 
planted  should  not  be  eaten  of  till  after  three  years,f 
because  the  tree  was,  till  that  time,  thought  unclean  ; 
it  is  from  the  last  mentioned  month  that  they  began 
to  reckon  this  sort  of  year. 

What  I  have  said  concerning  these  four  distinc- 
tions, relates  only  to  the  common  year  of  the  Jews, 
which,  as  has  been  said,  consisted  of  twelve  or  thir- 
teen lunar  months.  But  besides  this  year,  they  had 
a  second,  (as  has  also  been  already  observed,)  which 
consisted  of  seven  years,  and  was  called  sabbatical. 
On  this  year  the  Jews  were  not  permitted  to  culti- 
vate the  earth.  They  neither  ploughed,  nor  sowed, 
nor  pruned  their  vines  ;  and  if  the  earth  brought 
forth  any  thing  of  its  own  accord,  these  spontaneous 
fruits  did  not  belong  to  the  master  of  the  ground,  but 
were  common  to  all,  and  every  man  might  gather 
them.  So  that  the  Jews  were  obliged  during  the  six 
years,  and  more  especially  in  the  last  of  them,  where- 
in  they  cultivated  the  earth,  to  lay  up  provisions 
enough  to  last  from  the  end  of  the  sixth  year  to  the 
ninth,  in  which  was  their  first  harvest  after  the  sab- 
batical  year.% 

And  as  seven  common  years  made  the  sabbatical 
year,  so  did  seven  sabbatical  years  make  a  third  sort  of 
year  among  them,  which  was  called  the  year  of  jubilee. 

*  Lev.  xxvii,  32.     f  Ibid,  xix,  23.     t  Ibid,  xxv,  1—7 


216  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  IV. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Of  the  Jewish  Sacrifices  : — their  different  kinds,  and 
their  different  Ceremonies : — and,  of  their  Offerings, 
Gifts,  Firstfruits,  and  Tenths. 

SACRIFICING  is  the  offering  up  to  God  a  living  ani- 
mal, whose  blood  is  shed  in  adoration  of  his  majesty, 
and  in  order  to  appease  his  wrath.  All  the  different 
religions  in  the  world  agree  in  this  point,  and  have 
had  the  same  ideas  of  sacrifice.  Which  uniformity 
of  opinion  is  very  surprising  ;  from  whence  could  it 
be,  that  all  people  should  thus  universally  agree,  that 
the  blood  of  an  animal  has  these  two  great  proper- 
ties ?  or  how  could  it  come  to  pass,  that  the  use  of 
sacrifices  should  thus  universally  prevail  among  men  ? 
It  is  commonly  said  indeed,  that  this  was  a  fond  con- 
ceit, which  owes  its  rise  to  the  barbarity  of  the  Gen- 
tiles ;  and  some  think,  that  as  to  the  Jews,  they  bor- 
rowed this  custom  from  the  Egyptians,  and  that  it 
pleased  God  to  leave  them  to  the  worship  they  had 
seen  in  Egypt,  he  being  content  with  barely  reform- 
ing it.  But  can  it  be  believed,  that  God  would  bor- 
row the  manner  of  his  worship  from  a  people  that 
was  superstitious,  and  at  enmity  with  him  ?  No  :  the 
origin  of  sacrifices  is  to  be  dated  much  higher.  It 
is  derived  from  the  patriarchs,*  from  Abel,  from 
Noah,  and  from  Abraham,  who  all  offered  sacrifices, 
which  the  Scripture  testifies  were  acceptable  to  God. 

It  may  be  said,  that  all  people  had  this  idea  of  a 
sacrifice  ;  they  all  pretended  to  substitute  the  soul 
of  the  beast,  which  is  the  blood,  in  room  of  the  cri- 
minal soul  of  the  sinner.  "The  law  of  sacrifices, 
(says  Eusebius,t)  manifestly  shows  it ;  for  it  com- 
mands all  those  who  offer  sacrifices  to  put  their  hand 
upon  the  heads  of  the  victims ;  and  when  they  lead 
the  animal  to  the  priests,  they  lead  it  by  the  head, 

*  Probably  from  Adam  himself,  who  was  clothed  with  the  skins  of 
beasts,  which  were  most  probably  slain  in  sacrifice.  Gen.  iii,  21. 
De  Tab.  1.  3,  c.  7,  §  1. 

f  Demonst.  Evang.  lib.  i,  c.  10. 


Ch.  IV.]  Their  Sacrifices.  217 

as  it  were  to  substitute  it  thereby  in  the  room  of  their 
own."  And  upon  this  is  founded  the  law  which  for- 
bids the  eating  of  blood  :  which  God  himself  explains 
very  clearly  in  the  reason  he  gives  for  this  prohibi- 
tion :  « For, '  says  he,  « the  life  of  the  flesh  is  in  the 
blood,  and  I  have  given  it  to  you  upon  the  altar, 
to  make  an  atonement  for  your  souls ;  for  it  is  the 
blood  that  maketh  an  atonement  for  the  soul.'*  And 
if  then  it  be  true,  that  God  himself  commanded  the 
patriarchs  to  offer  sacrifices  to  him,  and  if  he  looked 
on  the  blood  that  was  shed  in  them,  as  the  essence 
of  the  sacrifice,  who  can  doubt  but  that  this  was  done 
with  a  view  to  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  was 
one  day  to  be  shed  for  the  redemption  of  the  uni- 
verse ?  Adam  was  no  sooner  fallen  into  sin,  but  God 
promised  him  One  who  should  make  an  atonement 
for  his  sin  ;  and  as  this  atonement  must  be  made  by 
the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  it  pleased  him  that  the 
patriarchs,  and  afterwards  his  own  people,  should 
give  types  of  this  great  sacrifice  in  those  of  their 
victims  ;  and  from  hence  they  drew  all  their  virtue. 
"  Whilst  men  (says  the  same  Eusebius)  had  no  vic- 
tim that  was  more  excellent,  more  precious,  and  more 
worthy  of  God,  animals  became  the  price  and  ransom 
of  their  souls.  And  their  substituting  these  animals 
in  their  own  room,  bore  indeed  some  affinity  to  their 
suffering  themselves ;  in  which  sense  it  is  that  all 
these  ancient  worshippers  and  friends  of  God  made 
use  of  them.  The  Holy  Spirit  had  taught  them,  that 
there  should  one  day  come  a  victim  more  venerable, 
more  holy,  and  more  worthy  of  God.  He  had  like- 
wise instructed  them  how  to  point  him  out  to  the 
world  by  types  and  shadows.  And  thus  they  became 
prophets,  and  were  not  ignorant  of  their  having  been 
chosen  out  to  represent  to  mankind  the  things  which 
God  resolved  one  day  to  accomplish." 

So  that  the  first  thing  we  must  suppose,  in  order  to 
explain  the  sacrifices  of  the  ancient  law,  is,  that  they 
were  established  only,  that  they  might  typify  that. 

*  Lev.  xvii,  11. 

19 


218  Manners  of  the  Israelites.        [Part  IV- 

sacrifice  which  Jesus  Christ  was  to  offer  up.  Unless 
we  are  prepossessed  with  this  truth,  we  can  look  on 
the  tabernacle  and  temple  of  Jerusalem  only  as 
slaughterhouses,  whose  victims,  blood,  and  fat,  are 
more  proper  to  inspire  disgust  than  religion.  And 
God  himself  testifies  the  distaste  he  had  for  this  immo- 
lation of  animals,  as  soon  as  the  Jews  came  to  con- 
sider and  practise  it  without  a  view  to  Jesus  Christ. 
1  To  what  purpose,'  says  he  in  Isaiah,*  « is  the  multi- 
tude of  your  sacrifices  unto  me  ?  I  am  full  of  the 
burnt-offerings  of  rams,  and  the  fat  of  fed  beasts  ; 
and  I  delight  not  in  the  blood  of  bullocks,  or  of  lambs, 
or  of  he-goats.'  But  how  then  could  God  reject  the 
sacrifices  which  he  had  himself  commanded  ?  Could 
that  which  pleased  him  at  one  time  displease  him  at 
another  ?  No ;  we  cannot  charge  him  with  such 
inconstancy.  But  we  see,  by  his  reproaches,  that 
when  he  commanded  the  sacrifices  of  the  ancient 
law,  he  did  it  not  out  of  any  desire  to  drink  the  blood 
of  goats,  or  eat  the  Jlesh  of  bulls,  as  David  speaks,  j 
but  only  to  typify  thereby  the  great  and  precious 
sacrifice  which  his  Son  should  one  day  offer  up :  and 
that  as  soon  as  these  sacrifices  ceased  to  be  animated 
by  this  spirit,  (as  those  did  which  the  carnal  Jews 
offered,)  they  became  insupportable  to  him. 

The  end  of  all  religion  is  sacrifice;  and  there  was 
never  any  religion  without  it.  As  to  that  of  animals, 
I  shall  speak  of  it  only  so  far  as  is  necessary  to  ren- 
der those  parts  of  Scripture  where  they  are  men- 
tioned intelligible  ;  and  shall  therefore  here  confine 
myself  to  the  explaining,  1.  What  these  ancient  sa- 
crifices were  :  2.  How  many  sorts  of  animals  were 
used  in  them  :  3.  What  the  manner  of  offering  them 
was  :  4.  What  ceremonies  attended  it :  5.  Who  was 
the  minister:  6.  The  place;  and  7.  The  time  for 
them  :  8.  How  many  sorts  of  them  there  were :  and 
9.  WThat  was  the  manner  of  partaking  of  them.  All 
which  I  shall  endeavour  to  do  in  a  very  few  words. 

1 .  Sacrificing  is  the  offering  up  an  animal  to  God, 
*  Isaiah  i>  11.  f  Psalm  1,  13-. 


Ch.  IV.]  How  they  Sacrificed.  219 

whereby  his  supreme  majesty  is  acknowledged,  sin 
expiated,  and  the  divine  justice  rendered  propitious. 
Man  by  sin  merited  death  ;  and  in  order  therefore 
to  satisfy  in  some  measure  the  justice  of  God,  he 
substituted  animals  in  his  own  room  ;  whose  blood 
nevertheless  would  have  no  efficacy  in  blotting  out 
sin,  were  it  not  that  it  was  a  type  of  the  precious 
blood  which  Jesus  Christ  has  since  poured  out  for 
us  on  the  cross,  and  by  which  he  has  reconciled  us 
to  his  Father.  So  that  by  the  death  which  the  vic- 
tims suffered,  and  by  the  fire  which  consumed  them, 
were  represented  to  sinners  the  two  punishments 
which  sin  had  deserved,  namely,  death  and  eternal 
fire ;  and  sacrifices  were,  at  the  same  time,  both 
marks  of  repentance  and  pledges  of  a  reconciliation. 
2.  There  were  but  five  sorts  of  animals  which 
could  be  offered  up  in  sacrifices,  and  these  were  oxen, 
sheep,  goats,  turtle  doves,  and  pigeons ;  which  are  in- 
deed the  most  innocent,  the  most  common,  and  the 
most  proper  animals  in  the  world,  for  the  nourish- 
ment of  men.  And  among  these,  great  care  was 
taken  in  the  choice  of  such  as  were  designed  for 
victims ;  for  the  least  defect  that  could  be  discovered 
in  them,  made  them  unworthy  of  God.  «  If  the  beast 
be  blind,  or  broken,  or  maimed,  or  having  a  wen,  or 
scurvy,  or  scabbed,  ye  shall  not  offer  these  unto  the 
Lord,  nor  make  an  offering  by  fire  of  them  upon  the 
altar  unto  the  Lord.'*  Maimonides,  in  his  treatise 
on  this  subject,  f  gives  us  a  long  enumeration  of  all 
the  defects  which  pollute  an  animal ;  he  reckons  up 
fifty  which  are  common  to  beasts  and  men,  and  three- 
and-twenty  which  are  peculiar  to  beasts  only,  and 
gives  a  sort  of  anatomical  account  of  the  parts  in 
which  they  are  found.  And  what  then  is  this  great 
purity  which  God  required  in  the  choice  of  his  vic- 
tims, but  another  proof  that  they  were  only  designed 
to  be  the  figures  of  Jesus  Christ,  whose  innocence 
was  to  be  perfect,  and  the  holiness  of  his  sacrifice 
infinite. 

*  Lev.  xxii,  22.    t  De  Katione  Sacrif. 


MO  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  IV, 

3.  He  who  offered  sacrifice  led  up  the  victim  be- 
fore the   altar ;  laid  both  his  hands,  according  to 
Maimonides,*  but  only  one,  according  to  other  rab- 
bins, upon  the  head  of  it,f  upon  which  he  leaned  with 
all  his  strength  ;  and  while  the  sacrifice  was  offering 
up  said  some  particular  prayers.     If  several  offered 
the  same  victim,  they  put  their  hands  upon  his  head 
one  after  another.    Which  imposition  of  hands  upon 
the  animal  which  they  were  just  going  to  sacrifice, 
was  to  show  that  they  loaded  him  with  their  iniqui- 
ties, and  that  they  had  deserved  the  death  which  he 
was  going  to  suffer.     And  hereby  the  victims  of  the 
Old  Testament  were  again  the  types  of  Jesus  Christ, 
upon  whom  was  laid  the  iniquities  of  mankind  ;|  and 
they  were  likewise  the  symbols  of  repentance.    For 
which  reason,  Maimonides  adds,§  concerning  the  sin- 
offering,  that  if  he  who  offered  it  did  not  repent  and 
make  a  public  confession  of  his  sins,  he  was  not 
cleansed  by  it. 

4.  The  manner  of  killing  the  animal  was  this : 
They  cut  through  the  throat  and  windpipe  at  one 
stroke  :  and  they  catched  the  blood  in  a  bason,  which 
they  kept  perpetually  stirring  about,  lest  it  should 
coagulate  before  it  had  been  sprinkled  upon  the  vail, 
or  the  altar,  or  other  things,  according  to  the  nature 
of  the  sacrifice.  ||     What  blood  remained  after  these 
sprinklings,  was  poured  out  at  the  foot  of  the  altar, 
either  all  at  once,  or  at  different  times,  according  to 
the  kind  of  sacrifice  that  was  offered.     There  was 
round  the  altar,  as  has   been  observed,   a  sort  of 
trench,  into  which  the  blood  fell,  and  from  whence 
it  was  conveyed,  by  subterraneous  channels,  into  the 
brook  Cedron  ;  and  this  altar,  which  was  raised  very 
high,  was  a  representation  of  the  cross,  to  which 
Jesus  Christ  was  fixed,  and  which  he  washed  with 
his  precious  blood.     After  these  aspersions,   they 
skinned  the  victim,  and  cut  it  in  pieces,  and  carried 
up  the  parts  of  it  to  the  altar  in  great  pomp,  by  a 

*  De  Ratione  Sacrif.  c.  iii,  n.  13.    |  Lev.  i,  4.     I  Isaiah  liii,  6.    §  DC 
Rat*  Sac.  c.  3.     J|  Lev.  iv,  5 — 7, 


Ch.  IV.]  How  they  Sacrificed.  221 

little  hill  or  ascent  to  it.  The  priests  as  they  went 
up  lifted  up  that  part  of  the  victim  which  they  car- 
vied  towards  the  four  parts  of  the  world.*  Either  the 
whole  victim,  or  some  part  of  it  only,  (according  to 
the  different  sorts  of  sacrifices,)  were  burned  upon 
the  altar,  where  the  priests  maintained  a  fire  always 
burning,  by  taking  care  to  be  perpetually  laying  fresh 
wood  upon  it. 

As  they  went  up  to  the  altar,  they  salted  the  vic- 
tim ;  for  the  law  forbad  the  presenting  any  there 
which  was  not  salted  :  and  the  sacrifices  were  always 
attended  with  libations,  which  were  a  mixture  of  wine 
and  flour.  Sometimes  they  had  cakes  made  of  the 
finest  flour,  and  oil,  and  incense,  which  were  baked 
in  a  pan,  or  upon  a  gridiron ;  and  at  other  times, 
they  had  such  as  were  only  made  of  parched  wheat. 
One  half  of  these  cakes  was  burnt,  and  the  other  half 
belonged  to  the  priests.  And  all  these  which  I  have 
mentioned,  the  victim,  the  wine,  the  oil,  and  the  cake, 
are  all  expressed  in  the  single  word  corbanoth,  that 
is,  gifts  offered  to  God;  and  were  all  either  to  be 
consumed,  killed,  burned,  or  poured  out,  with  the 
ceremonies  which  the  law  prescribes,  or  else  to  be 
reserved  for  sacred  banquets.  Nevertheless,  the  vic- 
tims and  cakes  have  different  names  among  the  He- 
brews ;  the  former  of  which  they  called  zebachim, 
that  is,  sacrifices ;  and  the  latter  mincha,  that  is, 
offerings.  And  the  cakes  which  were  made  of  the 
iiour  of  wheat  or  barley,  and  wine,  were  called  cakes 
of  libation.  All  those  that  were  offered  at  the  altar, 
must  first  have  had  some  oil  poured  upon  them  ;  and 
incense  must  likewise  have  first  been  put  to  them, 
as  is  expressly  commanded  in  Leviticus.^  Salt  was 
likewise  put  in  all  these  cakes ;  and  this  is  what 
Virgil  calls  salsas  fruges,  for  the  heathen  had  all 
these  ceremonies.  The  cakes  were  burned  upon 
the  altar,  and  the  wine  poured  out  at  the  foot  of  it; 

*  See  DC  Tabcrn.  1.  7,  c.  7,  §  1.  Maimon.  de  Ratioije  Sacrjficij. 
c.  6,  n.  Ifc.  1  Chap,  ii,  1. 

1.0* 


J22  Manners  of  the  Israelites.  [Part  IV. 

but  it  was  not  lawful  to  put  upon  the  altar  either 
honey  or  leaven. 

5.  As  to  the  ministration  of  the  sacrifice,  any  one 
might  kill  the  victims,  and  skin  them,  and  cut  them 
in  pieces ;   but  the  other  ceremonies,  as  those  of 
catching  the  blood,  and  sprinkling  it,  belonged  only 
to  the  priests.     And  in  this  the  law  is  very  express, 
that  he  who  offers  the  sacrifice,  *  shall  kill  it  on  the 
side  of  the  altar,  and  shall  cut  it  in  pieces,  but  that  the 
priests  the  sons  of  Aaron  shall  sprinkle  the  blood 
round  about  the  altar.'*     And  it  may  be  remarked 
with  Origen,  that  when  Annas,  Caiaphas,  and  the 
other  priests,  condemned  Jesus  Christ  to  death  in 
the  sanhedrim,  which  was  in  the  temple,  they  then, 
in  that  place  where  the  altar  was,  poured  out  the 
precious  blood  of  that  innocent  victim,  to  whom  all 
the  sacrifices  of  the  law  referred. 

6.  Before  the  building  of  the  temple,  the  sacrifice? 
were  offered  up  at  the  entrance  into  the  tabernacle  ; 
but  after  that  was  built,  it  was  not  lawful  to  offer 
them  up  any  where  but  there,  as  is  commanded  by 
God  himself  in  Deuteronomy  :f  and   this  law  took 
away  from  the  Jews  the  liberty  of  sacrificing  in  an} 
other  place.     They  might  slay  their  victims  in  any 
part  of  the  priests'  court  that  they  liked,  but  not  out 
of  it ;  and  they  were  even  obliged  to  sacrifice  the 
paschal  lamb  here.     And  to  this  prohibition  of  sacri- 
ficing any  where  but  in  the  temple  built  at  Jerusalem. 
Jesus  Christ  alludes,  when  he  says  in  St.  Luke,  'that 
it  cannot  be  that  a  prophet  perish  out  of  Jerusalem  :'j 
for  by  this  means,  not  so  much  as  the  types  of  the 
death  of  the  Prophet  could  be  represented  any  where 
but  in  that  city.     Those  victims  that  were  most  hoh 
could  only  be  offered  up  on  the  north  side  of  the 
altar. 

7.  As  to  the  time  of  offering  sacrifice,  it  could  only 
be  done  by  day,  and  the  blood  of  the  animal  was 
always  sprinkled  the  same  day  that  it  was  killed  ;  for 
the  blood  became  polluted  as  soon  as  the  sun  wa?= 

*Lev.  i,  11,  12.     fDeut.  xii,  14.     j  Luke  xiij,  33. 


Ch.  IV.]          Different  kinds  of  Sacrifices.  223 

down.  But  if  the  sprinkling  had  been  made  in  the 
daytime,  the  members  and  entrails  of  the  victim 
might  be  burnt  all  night  long. 

The  morning  sacrifice  was  offered  as  soon  as  the 
day  began  to  break,  before  the  sun  was  above  the 
horizon :  and  the  evening  one,  as  soon  as  darkness 
began  to  overspread  the  earth.  The  paschal  lamb 
was  offered  between  the  two  evenings,  that  is  to  say, 
at  the  time  when  the  sun  begins  to  decline,  about 
the  hour  that  Jesus  Christ  expired  on  the  cross,  which 
answers  to  our  three  in  the  afternoon. 

8.  We  come  now  to  the  other  sorts  of  sacrifices. 
One  alone  was  not  sufficient  to  represent  the  adorable- 
sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ,  whose  effects  are  infinite ; 
and  therefore  it  was  necessary  the  old  law  should 
have  different  sorts  of  them.  Some  of  them  were 
more,  and  some  of  them  less  holy;  but  they  were 
all  either,  1st,  burnt-offerings,  or  2dly,  sin-offerings,  or 
3dly,  trespass-offerings,  or  4thly,  peace-offerings.  Mai- 
monides  reduces  all  the  sacrifices  of  the  Jews  to  these 
four  sorts ;  which  were  either  offered  up  by  particular 
persons,  or  else  by  the  whole  people  in  general :  and 
we  shall  say  something  of  each. 

1st.  The  burnt -offering  or  holocaust,  as  the  word 
implies,  is  a  sacrifice  or  victim  which  is  entirely  con- 
sumed by  fire,  together  with  the  intestines  and  feet, 
which  they  took  care  to  wash  before  it  was  offered. 
But  it  was  not  so  with  other  sacrifices  ;  a  part  only 
of  them  was  burnt,  and  the  rest  divided  among  the 
priests  and  the  laymen,  who  offered  the  sacrifice. 
The  Hebrews  call  it  hola,  which  signifies  to  rise, 
because  the  victim  appeared  to  rise  up  to  heaven  in 
a  smoke,  as  an  odour  of  sweet  smell  before  God.*  It 
sometimes  happened,  that  fire  came  down  from  hea- 
ven and  miraculously  consumed  the  victim.  The 
reader  may  likewise  find  an  account  of  the  ceremo- 
nies that  attended  the  offering  up  the  burnt-offering  in 
Leviticus,  chap,  i,  5,  6. 

*  n^S  differently  pronounced  olah,  holafi,  and  gnolah.    Lev.  i,  .3> 


224  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  IV 

2dly.  The  second  sort  of  sacrifice  is  called  a  sin- 
offering.  And  here  we  may  observe,  that  the  words 
which  St.  Paul  puts  into  the  mouth  of  Jesus  Christ,  in 
the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,*  '  Sacrifice  and  offering-, 
and  burnt-offering,  and  offerings  for  sin,  thou  wouldst 
not,'  are  not  to  be  understood  of  God's  having  refused 
to  accept  of  the  sacrifice  which  Jesus  Christ  had 
offered  him  for  the  sins  of  men,  but  only  that  God 
disliked  all  the  ancient  sacrifices,  the  oblations,  the 
burnt-offerings,  and  the  sin-offerings,  which  were 
made  to  him  under  the  law.  This  sacrifice  was  like- 
wise sometimes  simply  called  sin;  and  therefore  when 
it  is  said,  that  Jesus  Christ  '  was  made  sin  for  us,'f 
we  are  to  understand  thereby  that  he  was  made  a 
sin-offering  for  us.  The  Hebrews  understand  by  the 
word  chatah,  (sin,)  any  voluntary  crime,  or  violation 
of  the  law,  which  was  committed  through  inadver- 
tency, and  which  God  always  punished,  unless  it  was 
expiated.  And  they  were  persuaded  that  several  dis- 
eases and  pains,  as  leprosy,  and  the  pains  of  child- 
bearing,  were  punishments  for  some  sin  ;  and  there- 
fore the  sacrifices  that  were  offered  by  lepers,  or 
women  after  they  had  lain  in,  are  reckoned  among 
the  sin-offerings. 

3dly.  In  order  to  understand  what  is  meant  by  the 
third  sort  of  sacrifices,  we  must  first  know  what  the 
Hebrews  meant  by  the  word  asham,$  which  the  Latin 
interpreter  renders  delictum,  arid  signifies  a  trespass, 
error,  or  doubt.  They  offered  this  third  sort  of  sacri- 
fice when  they  had  just  reason  to  doubt  whether  they 
had  broken  some  precept  of  the  law  of  God,  or  no. 
When  they  were  in  this  uncertainty,  they  were  obli- 
ged to  offer  sacrifice.  What  the  law  commands  con- 
cerning it  is  this,§  '  If  a  person  sin  through  igno- 

*  Chap,  x,  8. 

t  2  Cor.  v,  21.  £T£p  $/«»i/  upapTtav  mown.  The  word  a/;apria  fc 
used  by  the  Septuagint  for  a  sin-offering  in  94  places  in  Exod.,  LeVit 
and  Numb.,  which  is  their  translation  of  the  Hebrew  flKDn  chatah, 
and  which  in  all  the  above  places  is  rendered  sin-offering  in  our  Eng- 
Jish  Bibles. 

t  Dl^H  asham,  to  be  guilty,  orjiable  to  jninishment.    §  fccv.  v,  1 7, 


Ch.  IV.]          Different  kinds  of  Sacrifices.  225 

ranee,  and  does  any  of  those  things  which  the  law 
forbids,  and  comes  to  a  knowledge  of  his  fault  after 
he  has  committed  it,'*  (in  the  Hebrew  it  is,  'the  man 
who  shall  sin,  and  commit  some  crimes  against  any 
of  the  commandments  of  the  Lord,  though  he  be  not 
certainly  assured  of  his  sin,  yet  he  shall  nevertheless 
look  upon  himself  as  guilty  of  it,')  'this  man,'  as  the 
Latin  interpreter  goes  on  in  the  Vulgate,  f  '  shall  pre- 
sent unto  the  priest  a  ram  of  his  flock,  in  proportion 
to  the  crime  he  has  committed ;  and  the  priest  shall 
pray  for  him,  because  he  hath  sinned  through  igno- 
rance, and  it  shall  be  forgiven  him.' 

4thly.  The  peace-offering,  or  sacrifice  of  gratitude, 
(for  the  Hebrew  word  shelamim  signifies  both,)  was 
offered  as  a  thanksgiving,  either  for  having  recovered 
health,  or  for  having  received  some  signal  mercy  of 
God,  or  for  the  happy  state  of  their  atfairs ;  and  there- 
fore it  was  called  eucharistical.% 

But  some  divide  sacrifices  into  those  of  consecration, 
which  was  offered  when  any  one  was  admitted  into 
the  priesthood :  those  of  purification,  which  was  offer- 
ed for  women  who  had  lain  in,  and  lepers  ;  and 
those  of  expiation,  which  were  offered  for  purifying 
the  sanctuary,  or  temple,  or  people. 

9.  Nothing  now  remains,  but  to  speak  of  the  man- 
ner of  partaking  of  the  sacrifices  ;  concerning  which, 
we  must  observe,  that  nobody  partook  of  the  burnt- 
offerings,  because  they  were  entirely  consumed  by 
fire :  and  that  in  the  other  sacrifices,  the  law  declarer 
what  parts  of  the  victims  belonged  to  the  priests,  and 
what  parts  belonged  to  those  who  offered  them.§ 
When  the  sacrifices  were'  of  the  most  holy  sort,  they 
were  then  always  obliged  to  be  eaten  in  the  holy 
place,  that  is,  within  the  courts  of  the  tegylle,  and 
nobody  was  admitted  to  this  repast  but  Jews,  and 
such  only  of  them  as  had  contracted  no  legal  impu- 
rity. And  as  to  the  other  sacrifices,  which  were 

*  According  to  the  Vulgate,     f  v,  IS. 

f  O'D^ty  shelameem,  from  oSc?  shalam,  to  make  whole,  complete, 
to  make  up  a  difference  between  parties,  to  produce  peace. 
§  Numb,  xviii,  8,  20. 


226  Manners  of  the  Israelites.        [Part  IV, 

thought  less  holy,  as  the  paschal  lamb,  it  was  suffi- 
cient to  eat  them  within  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  but 
nowhere  else.* 

But  besides  these  sacrifices  of  animals  there  were 
likewise,  as  has  been  said,  some  oblations  among  the 
Jews,  which  were  made  of  bread,  wine,  oil,  and  in- 
cense. And  of  these  there  were  three  sorts  ;  namely, 
1st,  such  as  were  ordinary  or  common;  2dly.  such  as 
Were  free ;  and,  3dly,  such  as  were  prescribed. 

1st.  The  ordinary  oblations  that  were  made  among 
them  were,  1st,  of  a  certain  perfume  called  thumiama, 
which  was  burnt  every  day  upon  the  altar  of  incense  ; 
and,  2dly,  of  the  showbread,  which  was  otfered  new 
every  sabbath  day,  and  the  old  taken  away,  and  eaten 
by  the  priests. 

2dly.  The/ree  oblations  were  either  the  fruits,  1st, 
of  promises,  or  2dly,  vows  ;  but  the  former  did  not 
so  strictly  oblige  as  the  latter.  And  of  vows  there 
were  two  sorts  ;  1st,  the  vow  of  consecration,  when 
they  devoted  any  thing,  either  for  a  sacrifice,  or  for 
the  use  of  the  temple,  as  wine,  wood,  salt,  and  the 
like  ;  and  2dly,  the  vow  of  engagement,  when  persons 
engaged  themselves  to  do  something  which  was  not 
in  itself  unlawful,  as  not  to  eat  of  some  particular 
meat,  not  to  wear  some  particular  habits,  not  to  do 
such  and  such  innocent  things,  not  to  drink  wine, 
nor  to  cut  their  hair,  not  to  live  longer  in  any  house, 
and  such  like.  When  they  made  a  vow  they  made 
use  of  these  forms ;  /  charge  myself  with  a  burnt-offer- 
ing, or  /  charge  myself  with  the  price  of  this  animal,  for 
a  burnt-offering.  Besides  which,  they  had  likewise  ' 
other  shorter  forms  ;  as  ^or*example,  when  they  de- 
voted all  they  had  they  4hily  said,  Jill  I  have  shall  be 
corban,  Hkfct  is,  I  make  a  present  of  it  to  God.  For 
the  word  corban  signifies  a  present  made  to  God  ; 
which  is  the  very  same  thing  that  St.  Mark  says  of 
it,f  '  Corban,  (that  is  to  say,  a  gift,)  by  whatsoever 
thou  mightest  be  profited  by  me.'  The  Pharisees 
taught,  that  as  soon  as  a  man  had  once  said  this  to 
*  Maimonides  de  Ratione  Sacrificiorum7  cap.  xi,  n.  5.  t  Mark  rii,  1 1 


Ch.  IV.]  Their  First/mils.  227 

his  parents,  as  soon  as  he  had  pronounced  the  word 
corban,  he  thereby  consecrated  all  he  had  to  God, 
and  could  not  even  retain  enough  to  support  his 
father  and  mother  :  and  therefore  Jesus  Christ  with 
reason  reproaches  them  with  having  destroyed  by 
their  tradition  that  commandment  of  the  law,  which 
enjoins  children  to  honour  their  fathers  and  mothers. 
The  law  required  an  exact  performance  of  these 
vows,  and  the  things  which  were  thus  given  to  God 
were  reckoned  among  things  sacred,  which  nobody 
could  alienate  without  sacrilege. 

3dly.  The  prescribed  oblations  were  either,  1st,  the 
firstfruits,  or  2dly,  the  tenths. 

1st.  All  the  firstfruits  of  both  fruit  and  animals 
Were  due  to  God.*  Among  animals,  the  males  only 
belonged  to  God,  and  they  not  only  had  the  liberty, 
but  were  even  obliged  to  redeem  them,  in  the  case 
of  men  and  unclean  animals,  which  could  not  be  of- 
fered up  in  sacrifice  to  the  Lord.  And  as  to  fruits, 
they  were  forbidden  to  begin  the  harvest  till  they  had 
offered  up  to  God  the  owzer,  that  is,  the  new  sheaf, 
the  day  after  the  great  day  of  unleavened  bread  ;  and 
were  forbidden  to  bake  any  bread  made  of  new  corn 
till  they  had  presented  the  new  loaves,  on  the  day  of 
pentecost.  Before  the  offering  up  of  the  firstfruits 
all  was  unclean ;  after  this  oblation,  all  was  holy. 
To  which  St.  Paul  alludes  in  the  xith  chapter  of  his 
epistle  to  the  Romans,  ver.  1 6,  when  he  says,  « If  the 
firstfruit  be  holy  the  lump  is  also  holy.'  The  law 
commands,  says  Philo,  that  as. often  as  the  people 
make  bread,  they  should  laiatide  the  firstfruits  for 
the  priests,  and  this  keeps'  up  religion  in  their  hearts  ; 
for  when  they  accustom  Aemselves  to  lay  aside 
something  for  God,  they  cannot  easily  foflgft  him. 
To  which  Maimonides  adds,  that  he  that  ate  of  his 
fruits  before  he  had  paid  the  tithe  of  it,  was  punished 
with  sudden  death.  And  as  of  fruits  and  animals,  so 
likewise  of  oil  and  wine,  the  firstfruits  of  them  were 
paid  to  God.f 

*  Exod.  xxii,  29.     f  Deut.  xvii.i  4. 


228  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  IV. 

2dly.  Besides  firstfruits,  the  Jews  likewise  paid 
the  tenths  of  all  the  fruits  of  the  earth.  St.  Jerom, 
in  his  Commentary  on  the  Fifty-fourth  Chapter  ofEze- 
kiel,  divides  the  tenths  into  four  sorts ;  1st,  such  as 
were  paid  to  the  Levites  by  the  people,  who  were  for- 
bidden the  eating  any  fruit  before  this  tenth  was  paid, 
upon  pain  of  death  ;  2dly,  such  as  were  paid  by  the 
Levites  to  the  priests ;  3dly,  such  as  were  reserved 
for  the  banquets  which  were  made  within  the  verge 
of  the  temple,  to  which  the  priests  and  Levites  were 
invited  ;  and,  4thly,  such  as  were  paid  every  three 
years,  for  the  support  of  the  poor.  If  any  one  had  a 
mind  to  redeem  the  tithes  he  was  to  pay,  he  was 
obliged  to  pay  one  fifth  above  their  real  value  ;  and 
the  tithes  that  belonged  neither  to  the  priests  nor 
Levites  were  carried  to  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  from 
all  parts  of  the  world  where  any  Jews  were.  But 
the  distant  provinces  converted  it  into  money,  which 
was  sent  to  Jerusalem,  and  applied  to  the  sacrifices 
and  entertainments,  at  which  the  law  required  gayety 
and  joy.  Josephus,  who  relates  this  custom,  calls 
this  money  consecrated.  And  we  may  say,  that  it  was 
either  in  order  to  support  this  pious  custom,  or  else 
in  order  to  substitute  a  more  necessary  one  in  the 
room  of  this,  which  was  now  no  longer  so,  that  the 
apostle  took  care  to  send  alms  to  Jerusalem  from  all 
parts  of  the  world.  The  account  of  it  is  in  the  first 
epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  ch.  xvi,  1 — 3,  where  St. 
Paul  says,  '  Now  concerning  the  collection  for  the 
saints,  as  I  have  given  order  to  the  churches  of  Ga- 
latia,  even  so  do  ye.  Upon  the  first  day  of  the  week 
Jet  every  one  of  you  lay  by  him  in  store  as  God  hath 
prospered  him,  that  thrfre  be  no  gatherings  when  I 
come.  And  when  I  come,  whomsoever  you  shall 
approve  by  your  letters,  them  will  I  send  to  bring 
your  liberality  unto  Jerusalem.' 


Ch.  V.]  Ministers  of  the  Temple.  229 


CHAPTER   V. 

Of  the  Ministers  of  the  Temple,  the  Priests,  Levites, 
Nazarites,  and  Rechabites. 

THE  Jews,  in  the  establishment  of  their  republic, 
had  no  other  king  but  God  himself ;  and  the  place 
appointed  for  their  sacrifices  and  prayers  was  at  the 
same  time  both  the  temple  of  their  God,  and  the 
palace  of  their  sovereign.  And  hence  comes  all  that 
pomp  and  magnificence  in  their  worship,  that  pro- 
digious number  of  ministers,  officers,  and  guards ; 
and  that  very  exact  order  in  their  functions,  which 
was  first  established  by  Moses,  and  afterwards  re- 
newed by  David  with  yet  greater  splendour.  The 
tabernacle  was  the  first  palace  God  had  among  the 
Hebrews,  and  to  that  the  temple  succeeded  ;  and  the 
tribe  of  Levi  was  chosen,  if  I  may  so  speak,  to  form 
his  household.  And  for  this  reason  it  was  disengaged 
from  all  other  cares,  and  absolutely  devoted  to  the 
service  of  the  altar  :  but  the  honour  of  the  priest- 
hood was  reserved  to  the  family  of  Aaron  alone,  and 
the  rest  of  the  tribe  divided  only  the  inferior  offices 
of  the  temple  among  them,  so  that  all  the  priests  were 
indeed  Levites,  but  all  the  Levites  were  not  priests : 
nor  were  the  priests  and  Levites  the  only  sacred  per- 
sons among  the  Jews  ;  and  therefore,  in  order  to 
comprehend  them  all,  I  shall  in  this  chapter  speak, 
1,  of  the  Levites ;  2,  of  the  priests  ;  3,  of  the  officers  of 
the  synagogue ;  4,  of  the  Nazarites;  5,  of  the  Rechab- 
ites ;  6,  of  the  patriarchs  ;  and  7,  of  the  prophets. 

I.  Of  the  Levites.  But  before  I  enter  into  a  par- 
ticular account  of  their  functions  I  shall  say  some- 
thing, 1st,  of  the  estates  which  God  assigned  them 
for  their  subsistence,  in  order  to  free  them  from  the 
importunate  cares  of  life,  which  might  otherwise  have 
diverted  them  from  his  service  ;  2dly,  of  their  con- 
secration ;  3dly,  of  their  age ;  and  then  proceed  to  say 
something,  4thly,  of  their  functions  ;  5thly,  of  their 
number  ;  Gthly,  of  such  of  them  as  were  officers  of 


230  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  IV- 

the  temple;  and,  7thly,  of  the  Nethinim,  or  their 
servants. 

1st,  Then,  in  the  division  of  the  land  of  promise, 
the  Levites  had  not  their  portion  of  it ;  there  were  only 
eight  and  forty  cities,  with  their  territories  assigned 
them  for  the  support  of  their  cattle,  and  thirteen  of 
these  came  to  share  with  the  priests.  And  these  are 
all  the  possessions  the  Levites  had  ;  but  to  make  them 
amends  for  that  the  other  tribes  paid  them  the  tithe 
of  all  their  estates,  and  they  paid  the  tenths  of  that  to 
the  priests.  And  besides  this,  the  priests  had  likewise 
the  firstfruits,  and  a  considerable  part  of  the  offer- 
ings that  were  made  to  God.  All  which  may  be  seen 
in  the  book  of  Numbers.* 

2dly.  As  to  the  admittance  of  the  Levites  into  the 
ministry,  birth  alone  did  not  give  it  to  them ;  they 
wo.re  likewise  obliged  to  receive  a  sort  of  consecra* 
tion.  <  Take  the  Levites  from  among  the  children 
of  Israel,'  says  God  to  Moses,  « and  cleanse  them. 
And  thus  shall  thou  do  unto  them,  to  cleanse  them  ; 
sprinkle  water  of  purifying  upon  them,  and  let  them 
shave  all  their  flesh,  and  let  them  wash  their  clothes, 
and  so  make  themselves  clean.  Then  let  them  take 
a  young  bullock,'  &c.f 

3dly.  Nor  was  any  Levite  permitted  to  exercise 
his  function,  till  after  he  had  served  a  sort  of  novi- 
ciate for  five  years,  in  which  he  carefully  learned  all 
that  related  to  his  ministry.  Maimonides,  who  gives 
an  account  of  this  custom,  thereby  reconciles  two 
places  in  Scripture,  which  appear  contrary  to  one 
another :  for  it  is  said  in  the  book  of  Numbers,  in 
one  place,  |  that  the  Levites  were  not  admitted  into 
the  service  of  the  temple,  till  they  were  thirty  years 
old,  and  in  another,§  that  they  were  admitted  at 
twenty-five.  The  last  of  which  two  ages  shows  the 
time  when  they  began  their  probation,  and  the  other, 
the  time  when  they  began  to  exercise  their  functions. 
So  that  the  Levites  were  at  the  full  age  of  a  man, 
when  they  were  admitted  into  their  office ;  and  at 

*  Numb,  xviii.  f  Ibid,  viii,  6, 7, 8.  Exod.  xxix,  1—37.  J  Numb,  iv,  3. 
§  Ibid.  Tiii,  24. 


Ch.  V.]  Of. the  Levites.  231 

the  age  of  fifty  they  were  discharged  from  it.  But 
this  rabbin  pretends,  that  this  discharge  was  only 
granted  in  the  wilderness,  because  the  tabernacle 
often  changed  place,  and  the  removal  of  it  being 
troublesome  and  laborious,  required  young  men  to 
do  it ;  and  that  when  the  tabernacle  was  fixed,  age 
was  no  dispensation  for  the  Levites  to  quit  the  exer- 
cise of  their  offices. 

4thly.  As  to  their  functions ;  Moses  is  very  par- 
ticular in  giving  an  account  of  what  each  Levite  was 
to  carry,  upon  the  removal  of  the  tabernacle  ;*  but 
these  offices  subsisting  no  longer,  after  the  conquest 
of  the  land  of  Canaan,  David  established  a  new  order 
among  the  Levites,  whereby  some  were  appointed  to 
guard  the  gates,  f  some  to  sing  psalms,  |  and  some 
to  guard  the  treasures  ;§  and  he  likewise  divided 
them  into  different  classes,  of  which  Maimonides 
reckons  twenty-four ;  and  each  of  these  was  to  serve 
a  whole  week.  The  head  of  each  of  these  classes 
divided  those  who  were  under  him  into  different  fami- 
lies, and  chose  out  every  day  a  certain  number  of 
them  who  were  to  serve  for  that  day  ;  and  the  heads 
of  these  families  assigned  every  one  his  office.  But. 
the  Levites  were  not  permitted  to  do  any  thing  that 
was  to  be  done  about  the  altar. 

Sthly.  The  number  of  these  Levites,  upon  the  ac- 
count that  was  taken  of  those  who  were  30  years 
of  age,  in  Solomon's  time,  was  thirty-eight  thou- 
sand ;||  and  thence  we  may  judge  of  the  magnificence 
of  the  house  of  God,  in  which  there  were  so  many 
officers.  « Of  which,'  says  the  Scripture,  'twenty 
and  four  thousand  were  to  set  forward  the  work  of 
the  house  of  the  Lord  ;  and  six  thousand  were  offi- 
cers and  judges.  Moreover  four  thousand  were 
porters,  and  four  thousand  praised  the  Lord  with  the 
instruments,  and  David  divided  them  into  courses.'** 
To  which  the  Scripture  adds,  « For  by  the  last  words 
of  David  the  Levites  were  numbered  from  twenty 

*Numb.  iv.  fl  Chron.  ix,  17—26,  and  xxvi.  {  1  Chron.  xxv. 
$  Ibid,  w,  29.  I!  Ibid,  xxiii,  3.  **  Ibid,  xxiii,  4.  5, 6. 


232  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  IV. 

years  old  and  above  :  because  their  office  was  to 
wait  on  the  sons  of  Aaron,  for  the  service  of  the 
house  of  the  Lord,  in  the  courts,  and  in  the  cham- 
bers, and  in  the  purifying  of  all  holy  things,  and  the 
work  of  the  service  of  the  house  of  God  ;  both  for 
the  showbread,  and  for  the  fine  flour  for  meat  offer- 
ing, and  for  the  unleavened  cakes,  and  for  that  which 
is  baked  in  the  pan,  and  for  that  which  is  fried,  and 
for  all  manner  of  measure  and  size  ;  and  to  stand 
every  morning  to  thank  and  praise  the  Lord,  and 
likewise  at  even,  and  to  offer  all  the  burnt  sacrifices 
unto  the  Lord,  in  the  sabbaths,  in  the  new  moons, 
and  on  the  set  feasts,'  &c.*  And, 

6thly.  The  gospel  likewise  tells  us  that  there  were 
officers  in  the  temple  :  and  the  name  St.  Luke  gives 
them  signifies  officers  of  war  ;f  so  that  we  may  on  this 
account  also  look  on  the  temple  as  a  camp.  Besides 
the  general  officer,  Maimonides  reckons  up  fifteen 
subalterns,  |  whose  business  it  was  to  give  notice  of 
the  time  for  the  solemnities,  the  day  and  hour  of  the 
sacrifices,  and  to  set  the  guard.  Besides  which,  they 
had  likewise  the  charge  of  the  music,  the  instruments, 
the  table  in  which  every  one's  office  was  set  down 
according  as  it  had  fallen  to  him  by  lot,  the  seals,  the 
libations,  the  sick,  the  waters,  the  showbread,  the 
perfumes,  the  oils,  and  the  sacerdotal  habits.  But 
lo  give  the  greater  light  to  all  this,  I  will  repeat  what 
Maimonides  has  said  of  it,  which  will  make  the  reader 
more  and  more  admire  the  magnificence  of  the.  house 
of  God.  "  Every  officer  (says  he)  had  under  him 
several  persons,  who  executed  his  orders  in  every 
thing  that  related  to  his  charge.  He,  for  example, 
who  was  to  mark  the  time,  caused  the  hours  to  be 
reckoned,  and  when  that  of  the  sacrifice  was  come, 
either  he  or  some  of  his  men  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 
4  To  the  sacrifice,  ye  priests;  to  the  tribune^  ye 
Levites  ;  and  to  your  ranks,  ye  Israelites  ;'  and  then 
immediately  every  one  prepared  himself  to  set  about 


1  Chron.  xxiii,  27,  28,  29,  30,  31.     f  Luke  xxii,  52. 

,     |  In  his  treatise  called  Chelim.  chap.  vii.     §  Music  gallery 


Ch.  V.]  Of  the  Levites.  233 

his  duty.  He,  who  had  the  care  of  the  gates,  ordered 
when  they  should  be  shut,  and  when  opened ;  and 
the  trumpets  which  gave  notice  that  the  gates  were 
going  to  be  opened,  could  not  sound  till  they  had  his 
orders.  The  officer  of  the  guard  took  his  rounds  at 
night,  and  if  he  found  any  of  the  Levites  upon  guard 
asleep,  he  either  caned  him,  or  burnt  his  vests.  The 
superintendent  of  the  music  every  day  chose  the 
musicians  who  were  to  sing  the  hymns,  and  gave 
orders  to  the  trumpets  to  give  notice  of  the  sacrifices. 
The  masters  of  the  instruments  delivered  them  out  to 
the  Levites,  and  appointed  what  instruments  should 
every  day  be  used.  And  he  who  had  the  charge  of 
the  table,  made  the  priests  draw  lots,  and  assigned 
every  one  his  office.'*  If  the  reader  has  a  mind  to 
see  more  of  this,  I  refer  him  to  the  book  itself ;  and 
shall  only  add  here,  that  there  was  another  officer 
besides  these,  whose  business  it  was  to  take  care  oi 
the  priests  that  fell  sick,  which  often  happened.  For, 
as  they  wore  nothing  but  a  single  tunic,  and  drank 
no  wine,  and  were  obliged  to  go  barefoot  in  the 
temple,  which  was  paved  with  marble,  they  were 
very  subject  to  the  colic.  But  I  must  not  forget  to 
observe  here,  that  David  chose  out  two  hundred  and 
eighty-eight  Levites  to  be  masters  of  music,  and 
teach  the  others  to  sing  ;f  so  that  as  there  were  four- 
and-twenty  courses  of  singers,  each  class  had  twelve 
masters  ;  and  in  their  performances  they  mixed  both 
voices  and  instruments  together. 

7thly  and  lastly.  As  the  priests  had  the  Levites 
under  them,  so  had  the  Levites  also  others  under 
them,  whose  business  it  was  to  carry  the  water  and 
wood  that  was  used  in  the  temple.  Joshua  at  first 
made  use  of  the  GibeonitesJ  for  this  purpose ;  and 
afterwards  other  nations  were  employed  in  it ;  and 
called  Nethinim,§  that  is,  persons  who  had  given 
themselves  up,  from  the  Hebrew  JVaf/mn,  which  sig- 
nifies to  give. 

*  In  Chelim,  chap.  vii.     f  »  Chron.  xxv,  7.     I  Josh,  is, 
§  Ezra  riU)  20.     Sec  DC  Tabern.  1.  vii,  c.  3.  sec-  4. 
20* 


234  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  IV, 

From  the  consideration  of  the  Levites  we  proceed 
now 

II.  To  that  of  the  priests.  In  which  we  shall 
mention,  1st,  their  order  ;  2dly,  their  election ;  3dly, 
their  manner  of  life  ;  4thly,  their  laws  ;  5thly,  their 
functions  ;  Gthly,  their  habits  ;  7thly,  the  consecra- 
tion of  the  highpriest ;  8thly,  his  succession ;  and, 
ninthly,  his  dress. 

1  st.  The  order  that  was  observed  among  the  priests 
was  this  :  they  were  divided,  as  we  have  seen,  into 
four-and-twenty  classes,  each  of  which  had  its  head, 
who  was  called  the  prince  of  the  priests.  Every  week 
one  of  these  classes  went  up  to  Jerusalem  to  perform 
the  offices  of  the  priesthood,  and  every  sabbathday 
they  succeeded  one  another,  till  they  had  all  taken 
their  turns  :  but  on  the  solemn  feasts  they  all  assem- 
bled there  together.  The  prince  of  each  class  ap- 
pointed an  entire  family  every  day  to  offer  the  sacri- 
fices, and  at  the  close  of  the  week  they  all  joined 
together  in  sacrificing.  And  as  each  class  had  in  it 
different  families,  and  each  family  consisted  of  a  great 
number  of  priests,  they  drew  lots  for  the  different 
offices  which  they  were  to  perform.  And  it  was  thus 
that  the  lot  fell  upon  Zecharias  the  father  of  John 
the  Baptist  '  to  burn  incense  when  he  went  into  the 
temple  of  the  Lord.'* 

2dly.  From  considering  their  order,  we  proceed 
to  consider  the  manner  in  which  the  priests  were 
chosen,  and  the  defects  which  excluded  them  from 
the  priesthood.  Among  the  defects  of  body,  which 
rendered  them  unworthy  of  the  sacerdotal  functions,! 
the  Jews  reckon  up  fifty  which  are  common  to  men 
and  other  animals,  and  ninety  which  are  peculiar  to 
men  alone.^  The  priest  whose  birth  was  polluted 
with  any  profaneness,  was  clothed  in  black,  and  sent 
out  without  the  verge  of  the  priests'  court ;  but  he 
who  was  chosen  by  the  judges  appointed  for  that 
purpose,  was  clothed  in  white,  and  joined  himself  to 
the  other  priests.  And  I  know  not  whether  St.  John 
*  Luke  i,  9.  f  Lev,  xxi,  16,  24,  \  De  Tabern.  Ub.  Hi,  c.  9.  §3 


Ch.  V.]  Of  their  Priests.  235 

does  not  allude  to  this  custom  when  he  says,  «  He 
that  overcometh,  the  same  shall  be  clothed  in  white 
raiment,  and  I  will  not  blot  out  his  name  out  of  the 
book  of  life.'*  They  whose  birth  was  pure,  but  who 
had  some  defect  of  body,  lived  in  those  apartments 
of  the  temple  wherein  the  stores  of  wood  were  kept, 
and  were  obliged  to  split  and  prepare  it,  for  keeping 
up  the  fire  of  the  altar. 

3dly.  All  the  time  the  priests  were  performing  their 
offices,  both  wine,  and  conversation  with  their  wives, 
were  §>rbid  them.f  And  they  had  no  other  food  but 
the  flesh  of  the  sacrifices  and  the  showbread.  They 
performed  all  their  offices  standing,  \  and  barefoot, 
and  with  their  heads  covered,§  and  feet  washed.  || 

4thly.  The  laws  which  God  laid  upon  the  priests 
are  these  :  '  God  said  unto  Aaron,  Do  not  drink 
wine  nor  strong  drink,  thou  nor  thy  sons  with  thee, 
when  ye  go  into  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation, 
lest  ye  die.**  The  priests  shall  not  be  defiled  for  the 
dead  among  his  people,  but  for  his  kin. ft  They  shall 
not  take  a  wife  that  is  a  whore,  or  profane  ;  neither 
shall  they  take  a  woman  put  away  from  her  husband  Jt 
The  daughter  of  any  priest,  if  she  profane  herself  by 
playing  the  whore,  she  protjyieth  her  father,  she  shall 
be  burnt  with  fire.'§§ 

Sthly.  As  to  the  functions  of  the  priests :  their 
business  was  to  keep  up  the  fire  upon  the  altar  of 
burnt-offerings,  that  it  might  never  go  out;||||  to  guard 
the  sacred  vessels  ;  to  offer  the  sacrifices  ;  to  wash 
the  victims ;  to  make  the  aspersions,  whether  of 
blood  or  water,  upon  the  persons  offering  the  victims, 
or  the  book  of  the  law ;  to  burn  the  incense  upon 
the  altar  ;***  to  dress  the  lamps ;  to  put  the  new  show- 
bread  upon  the  table,  and  to  take  away  the  old.  And 
to  them  only  it  belonged  to  catch  the  blood  of  the 

*  Rev.  iii,  5.  f  Exod.  xix,  15.  Lev.  x,  8—11.  {  Maim,  do 
Ratione  adeundi  Tempi,  c.  v.  §  Lev.  x,  6.  xxi,  10.  ||  Exod.  xxx, 
19.  **  Lev.  x,  8,  9.  Jf  Lev.  xxi,  1,  2.  ttlWd.wr.?;  §§  Ibid. 
ver.  9.  Jill  Lev.  vi,  13.  Maimon.  de  Ratione  Sacrif.  c.  v,  n.  7. 
.?**  This  was  the  first  business  of  the  day.  DC  Tab.  J.  7.  c.  6.  §  2,  fc 


236  ..    Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  IV. 

victims,  and  sprinkle  it  upon  the  altar.*  Such  as 
were  of  the  sacerdotal  race,  and  were  excluded  from 
the  priesthood  on  account  of  any  defect,  had  the  care 
of  cleaving  the  wood  which  was  burnt  upon  the  altar ; 
for  they  were  very  nice  in  choosing  it,  and  thought  it 
unlawful  to  use  any  there  which  was  rotten  or  worm 
eaten.  All  the  offices  just  now  mentioned  were  in 
common  to  the  priests  and  highpriests  ;  but  besides 
them  there  was  a  particular  one,  annexed  to  the  latter 
dignity  only,  and  that  was,  that  the  highpriest  alone 
went  into  the  holy  of  holies  once  a  year  on  tye  day 
of  expiation,  and  he  alone  could  offer  up  the  sacrifice 
which  was  then  prescribed,  both  for  his  own  sins  and 
those  of  all  the  people. 

Gthly.  As  to  the  names  and  forms  of  the  sacer- 
dotal habits,  we  find  them  in  Exodtisf  and  Leviti- 
cus. |  Those  that  were  common  to  all  the  priests, 
were,  1st,  linen  drawers ;  2dly,  the  linen  robe,  which 
was  so  straight  that  it  had  no  fold  in  it ;  3dly,  the 
girdle ;  and,  4thly,  the  tiara,  which  was  a  sort  of 
bonnet  or  turban,  made  of  several  rolls  of  linen  cloth 
twisted  round  about  the  head. 

7thly.  All  the  priests  had  over  them  a  highpriest, 
whose  habits  were  different  from  theirs,  and  who  was 
consecrated  with  some^particular  ceremonies.  At 
the  time  of  his  consecration,  they  poured  a  pre- 
cious oil  upon  his  forehead, §  and  this  unction  was 
made  in  the  form  of  the  Greek  letter  X.  Maimonide.s 
tells  us  that  this  was  not  observed  in  the  second 
temple,  and  that  the  highpriest  was  then  no  other- 
wise consecrated,  than  by  the  pontifical  habits  which 
he  wore.  But  when  it  was  observed,  it  was  done  in 
such  plenty,  that  we  are  not  to  wonder  if  the  hoi) 
oil,  which  was  poured  upon  his  forehead,  ran  down 
on  all  sides  upon  the  beard  of  the  highpriest ;  to 
which  the  Psalmist  refers  when  speaking  of  a  pre- 
cious perfume,  he  compares  it  with  that  which  was 
used  at  Aaron's  consecration.  || 

*  De  Tab.  §  5.  Ex.  xxx,  7.  2  Chron.  xxvi,  16—19.     f  Chap,  xxfiii. 
J  Chap.TiU.      §  Lev.  »i,  10.      j|  Psalm  cxxxlii,  2. 


Ch.  V.]  Habits  of  the  Highpriest.  237 

8thly.  The  highpriesthood,  as  to  its  succession, 
descended  by  inheritance,  and  belonged  to  the  eldest. 
In  its  first  institution,  it  was  for  life  ;  but  from  the 
time  that  the  Jews  became  subject  to  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  the  duration  of  this  venerable  office  de- 
pended upon  the  will  of  the  princes  or  governors. 
And  under  the  Asmonean  princes  there  was  another 
considerable  alteration  made  in  this  office.  It  then 
went  out  of  the  family  of  Aaron,  and  passing  into 
that  of  Judas  Maccabeus,  came  into  a  private  Leviti- 
cal  family ;  as  appears  from  the  catalogue  which 
Josephus  has  given  us  of  the  highpriests.*  There 
could  not  be  two  highpriests  at  once ;  but  they  chose 
a  sort  of  vicar-general,  who  supplied  their  places  in 
their  absence,  and  had  the  precedence  before  all 
other  priests.  The  Hebrews  gave  him  the  name  of 
sagan,  and  he  sat  at  the  right  hand  of  the  highpriest. 
And  therefore  some  think  that  Caiaphas  was  high- 
priest,  and  Annas  his  sagan,  and  that  this  is  the  rea- 
son why  Jesus  Christ  was  brought  before  them  both.f 

9thly.  As  to  the  habits  peculiar  to  the  highpriest, 
the  first  we  shall  speak  of  is  that  which  the  Hebrew 
text  calls  me/a/.  The  Greek  interpreters  have  once 
Tendered  it  by  ifofypy^  which  signifies  a  garment 
that  reaches  -down  to  the  feet ;  and  this  is  the  word 
which  Josephus  also  makes  use  of.  But  as  the 
same  Greek  interpreters  sometimes  render  it  by 
oth%r  words,  I  am  of  opinion  that  the  mehil  was  not 
so  long  ;  it  might  be  a  shorter  sort  of  garment. 

Upon  the  border  of  this  garment,  whatever  it  was, 
there  were,  instead  of  a  fringe,  seventy-two  golden 
bells,  and  as  many  pomegranates :  and  if  then  this 
garment  had  reached  down  to  the  ground,  it  would 

*  See  DeTab.  1.  vii,  c.  A.  §7.  See  Joseph.  Ant.  b.  xx,  <:.  10,  and 
X,  c.  8.  s.  6.  f  Luke  iii,  2. 

J  Exod.  xxviii,  4.  S'^D  fr°m  r\^y  alah,  to  go  up,  was  probably 
so  called  from  being  a  sort  of  outer,  or  upper  coat.  Josephus  says, 
"  It  reached  down  to  the  feet,  and  was  not  made  of  two  distinct  pieces 
sewed  together  at  the  shoulders  and  sides,  but  was  one  entire  long 
garment,  woven  throughout."  Antiq.  b.  iii,  c.  7.  s.  4.  Our  Lord's 
coat,  mentioned  John  xix,  23,  appears  to  have  been  precisely  the  same 
with  the  mehil.  The  English  translators  call  it  the  robe. 


233  Manners  of  the  Israelites.        [Part  IV. 

not  only  have  hidden  the  tunic,  or  linen  alb,  which 
the  highpriest  wore  under  it,  and  which  he  had  in 
common  with  the  other  priests,  but  these  pomegra- 
nates and  bells  would  likewise  have  lost  their  sound. 
And  therefore  the  mehil  may  be  said  to  have  been 
called  poderes,  because  it  came  down  almost  to  the 
feet.  The  colour  of  it  was  purple  ;  and  under  it  was 
the  tunic,  or  linen  alb,*  which  was  common  to  all  the 
priests.  This  linen  was  very  fine,  and  twisted,  so 
that  the  tunic  was  not  woven  close,  but  open  j  and 
there  was  raised  work,  and  hollows,  and  figures  in 
it ;  and  its  extremities  reached  down  to  the  ground. 
2dly.  And  besides  this,  the  highpriest  wore  another 
sort  of  garment,  which  is  like  a  waistcoat  without 
sleeves,  and  which  is  by  the  Hebrews  called  an  ephod, 
and  by  the  Latins  superhumerale,  because  it  was  fast- 
ened upon  the  shoulders.  (And  they  likewise  gave 
the  name  of  ephod  to  another  garment  something 
like  this,  which  laymen  were  permitted  to  wear,  as 
appears  from  David's  being  said  to  have  been  dressed 
in  a  linen  ephod.})  Upon  each  shoulder  he  had  also 
a  precious  stone,  in  which  were  engraven  the  names 
of  the  children  of  Israel ,  in  that  on  the  right  shoul- 
der were  the  names  of  the  six  eldest,  and  in  that  on 
the  left,  those  of  the  six  youngest.  And  he  had 
upon  his  breast  a  square  piece  of  stuff,  |  of  the 
dimensions  of  the  Hebrew  zereth,  that  is,  about  half 
a  cubit.  The  Hebrews  call  it  hoschen,  that  is,  the 
breastplate,  because  it  was  worn  upon  the  breast ; 
but  the  Greeks  call  it  logion,  and  the  Latins,  from 
them,  rationale,  and  from  these  latter  comes  the 
French  term  rational.  The  Greek  word  may  be 
translated  by  this  Latin  one ;  but  I  think  it  would  be 
better  rendered  oraculum,  because  this  was  as  it  were 
the  oracle,  by  which  God  gave  his  answers  :  for  the 
highpriest,  when  he  would  consult  God  on  any  occa- 
sion, put  on  this  ornament  upon  his  breast,  and  God 
answered  him  in  the  manner  we  are  going  to  relate. 
There  were  upon  the  breastplate  twelve  precious 
*  English,  a  broidered  coat,  t  2  Sam.  vi,  14.  J  Exod.  xxviii,  15—30 


Ch.  V.]          Officers  of  the  Synagogue.  239 

stones,  upon  which  were  likewise  engraven  the 
names  of  the  twelve  sons  of  Jacob  ;  and  upon  it 
were  also  the  Urim  and  Thummim.  The  first  of 
these  words  signifies  lights  or  knowledge,  and  the 
other  truth  or  perfection;  and  the  Jews  pretend  that 
they  were  two  sacred  signs,  by  which  God  made 
known  his  will ;  and  when  they  ceased  to  appear, 
it  was  no  longer  known  what  they  were.  All  that 
is  certain  concerning  this  opinion  is,  that  the  word 
urim  signifies  lights;  and  perhaps  it  was  so  called 
because  these  precious  stones  shone  with  an  extra- 
ordinary and  miraculous  fire.  So  that  the  Urim  and 
Thummim  were  something  more  than  barely  two 
words  engraven  on  the  breastplate  ;  and  indeed  we 
often  find  in  scripture  that  God  was  consulted  by 
Urim.* 

3dly,  and  lastly.  The  highpriest  wore  likewise  a 
plate  of  gold  upon  his  forehead,  on  which  were  en- 
graven these  two  words,  Kodesch  layhovah,  tb,at  is, 
Holy  to  the  Lord.  It  was  tied  with  a  purple  or  blue 
ribbon  to  his  tiara,  which  was  made  of  linen,  like 
those  of  the  other  priests,  and  was  only  distinguished 
from  them  by  this  plate  and  ribbon. 

III.  Next  to  the  priests  and  Levites,  the  officers 
of  the  synagogue  ought  to  find  a  place  in  this  chapter. 
They  were  in  some  sort  sacred  persons,  since  they 
had  the  superintendency  of  those  places,  which  were 
set  apart  for  prayer  and  instruction.  They  were  of 
several  sorts  ;  some  of  them  being  presidents,  whom 
the  Greeks  call  princes  of  the  synagogue,  and  the 
Hebrews  heads  of  the  congregation.^  These  were 
men  advanced  in  age,  men  of  letters  and  under- 
standing, and  of  known  probity.  The  Hebrews 
call  them  chocamim,  that  is,  sages  or  wise  men ;  and 
their  authority  was  considerable.  They  were  judges 
of  pecuniary  matters,  of  thefts,  damages,  and  such 
like ;  and  St.  Paul  doubtless  alludes  to  them  in  the 

*  Deut.  xxxiii,  8.     Numb,  xxvii,  21.     1  Sam.  xxviii,  6. 
t  These  are  in  the  New  Testament  called  Apx.i<rvvayuyft  or  Tillers 
Of  the  synagogue,  Mark  v,  35.  Luke  viii,  41. 


240  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  IV. 

sixth  chapter  of  his  first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians, 
verse  5,  when  he  reproaches  the  Christians  with 
carrying  their  differences  before  the  tribunals  of  the 
Gentiles,  as  if  they  had  no  persons  among  themselves 
who  were  capable  of  judging  them.  '  Is  it  so,'  says 
he,  '  that  there  is  not  a  wise  man  among  you  ?  no, 
not  one  that  shall  be  able  to  judge  between  his  bre- 
thren?' And  these  had  likewise  the  power  of  punish- 
ing those  whom  they  judged  to  be  rebellious  against 
the  law  ;  and  hence  it  is,  that  our  Lord  forewarns 
his  disciples,  that  '  they  should  be  scourged  in  the 
synagogues.'*  Besides  these  presidents,  or  princes  of 
the  synagogue,  there  was  likewise  in  every  synagogue 
a  sort  of  minister,  who  read  the  prayers,  directed  the 
reading  of  the  law,  and  preached,  and  was  called 
chazan,  that  is,  an  inspector  or  bishop,  f  And  to 
this  minister  were  joined  other  officers,  who  had  the 
care  of  the  poor,  and  collected  the  alms  ;  and  these 
were  called  parnasim,  that  is,  pastors  and  rectors. 
As  to  the  reading  of  the  law  in  the  synagogues,  it 
was  always  done  in  Hebrew,  J  and  this  made  it  neces- 
sary, as  soon  as  that  language  ceased  to  be  their 
mother  tongue,  to  establish  an  interpreter,  whom 
the  Jews  call  targumista.  And  by  this  means  the 
doctor  who  explained  the  law  in  Hebrew,  came  to 
have  an  interpreter  always  by  him,  in  whose  ears  he 
softly  whispered  what  he  said,  and  this  interpreter 
repeated  aloud  to  the  people  what  had  been  thus 
whispered  to  him.  This,  Lightfoot  plainly  proves 

*  Matt,  x,  17. 

I  He  that  read  the  prayers  and  gave  the  blessing  in  the  synagogues, 
was,  according  to  Dr.  Prideaux,  a  different  officer  from  the  chazan, 
and  was  called  sheliach  zibbor,  or  the  angel  of  the  church  ;  whence  it  is 
that  the  bishops  are  called  (Rev.  i,)  angels  of  the  churches.  The 
chazan,  according  to  him,  was  an  inferior  officer,  whose  business  was 
to  take  care  of  the  books  and  other  utensils ;  a  sort  of  deacon,  such 
as  the  parnasim  are  here  said  to  be.  And  to  such  a  one  as  is  called 
a  minister,  our  Saviour  gave  the  books  when  he  had  done  reading  in 
the  synagogue,  Luke  iv,  20.  Connec.  part  i,  b.  6.  Under  the  year  444, 
p.  307,  306  of  the  fol.  edit. 

I  Of  the  manner  of  reading  the  Scripture  in  the  synagogues,  see 
Prid.  Con.  part  i,  b.  6.  Under  the  year  444,  p.  306  of  the  folio  edi- 
tion. 


Ch.  V.]  The  Nazarites.  241 

in  his  Horat  TalmudiccR ;  and  this,  Jesus  Christ  had 
in  view,  when  he  said  to  his  disciples,  «  What  ye 
hear  in  the  ear,  that  proclaim  ye  upon  the  house- 
tops.'* But  the  synagogues  were  not  only  places 
set  apart  for  prayer,  they  were  also  schools  where 
the  young  were  taught.  The  sages,  for  so  the  mas- 
ters were  called,  sat  upon  benches,  and  the  young 
men  sat  at  their  feet ;  which  is  the  reason  St.  Paul 
says,  he  learned  the  law  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel.^  We 
shall  now  add  an  account  of  such  as  distinguished 
themselves  from  the  people  by  the  holiness  of  their 
lives  ;  and  such  were, 

4thly.  The  Nazarites,  or  as  some  call  ihem^Waza- 
reans ;  which  is  a  Hebrew  word,  and  signifies  sepa- 
rated. God  himself  is  the  author  of  this  kind  of 
life. |  From  the  moment  that  they  devoted  them- 
selves to  it,  they  abstained  from  all  sorts  of  liquors 
that  could  intoxicate,  and  never  cut  their  hair  after- 
wards, till  the  day  that  their  vow  ended.  And  of 
these  there  were  two  sorts  :  1st.  Nazarites  by  birth, 
as  were  Samson,  and  John  the  Baptist :  and  2dly. 
Nazarites  by  vow  and  engagement.  The  latter  follow- 
ed this  kind  of  life  only  for  a  time,  after  which  they 
cut  off  their  hair  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle.  Mai- 
monides  observes,§  that  there  were  sometimes  some 
zealous  persons,  who  voluntarily  defrayed  the  ex- 
penses which  were  necessary  for  cutting  off  the  hair 
of  one  or  more  Nazarites,  after  they  had  offered  the 
necessary  sacrifices,  when  the  time  of  their  vows  was 
expired.  Which  may  serve  to  explain  that  passage 
in  the  twenty-first  chapter  of  the  Acts,  which  some 
persons  misunderstand,  in  thinking  that  St.  Paul  is 
there  spoken  of,  as  having  made  a  vow  to  become  a 
Nazarite.  But  the  true  sense  of  the  chapter  is  this  ; 
the  apostles  advise  St.  Paul  to  bear  the  necessary 
expenses  of  four  Nazarites,  in  order  to  remove  the 

*  Matt,  x,  27.     f  Acts  xxii,  3. 

|  In  the  sixth  chapter  of  Numbers  you  have  an  account  of  th« 
qualifications  of  the  Nazarites  and  their  austerities. 
§  In  his  treatise  of  the  Nazareate. 
21 


242  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  IV. 

opinion  the  people  had  received  of  him,  that  he  de- 
spised the  law  of  Moses.  Now  they  that  bore  these 
expenses  were  obliged  to  purify  themselves  :  and 
therefore  St.  Paul  appointed  a  day,  whereon  he  would 
(after  the  time  of  the  vow  was  past)  pay  the  money 
that  was  necessary  to  buy  the  victims  that  were  to 
be  offered  up  on  this  occasion  ;  in  order  thereby  to 
undeceive  the  Jews  concerning  the  reports  that  had 
been  spread  about  him.* 

5thly.  The  Rechabites,  like  the  Nazarites,  separa- 
ted themselves  from  the  rest  of  the  Jews,  in  order 
to  lead  a  more  holy  life.f  Jeremiah  describes  the 
life  and  customs  of  the  Rechabites  in  the  thirty-fifth 
chaptt^  of  his  prophecy,  verse  5 — 7,  thus,  *  I  set,' 
says  he,  '  before  the  sons  of  the  house  of  the  Rechab- 
ites, pots  full  of  wine,  and  cups,  and  I  said,  Drink 
ye  wine.  But  they  said,  We  will  drink  no  wine,  for 
Jonadab  the  son  of  Rechab  our  father  commanded 
us,  saying,  Ye  shall  drink  no  wine,  neither  ye  nor 
your  sons,  for  ever.  Neither  shall  ye  build  house, 
nor  sow  seed,  nor  plant  vineyard,  nor  have  any.' 
This  Rechab,  the  father  of  Jonadab,  lived  under 
Jehu  king  of  Israel,  in  the  time  of  the  prophet  Eli- 
sha.J  These  Rechabites  lived  in  tents,  and  flou- 
rished about  a  hundred  and  fourscore  years.  But 
after  the  captivity  they  were  dispersed,  unless  the 
Essenes,  of  whom  we  have  spoken  before,§  succeed- 
ed them.  It  is  certain  that  they  followed  the  same 
kind  of  life. 

6thly.  Among  the  number  of  sacred  persons  we 
may  likewise  put  the  patriarchs.  Such  were  Adam, 

*  Not  that  this  is  so  to  be  understood,  with  Petit,  as  to  imply  that 
St.  Paul  had  no  vow  upon  himself:  it  is  to  me  very  evident,  from 
Acts  xviii,  18,  that  he  had  a  vow  upon  himself,  (which  he  made  at 
Cenchrea,  and  therefore  shaved  himself  there,  by  way  of  initiation 
into  it,  as  all  those  who  made  vows,  or  were  Na/arites,  did  ;)  as  well 
as  assisted  the  others  in  defraying  the  expenses  of  their  vows.  See* 
Lamy  DC  Tabern.  I.  vii,  c.  3.  §  2. 

t  The  Rechabites'  manner  of  living  was  not  only  a  matter  of  reli- 
gion, but  also  a  civil  ordinance  grounded  upon  a  national  custom. 
They  were  Kenites  or  Midianites,  who  used  to  live  in  tents,  as  the 
Arabians  still  do.  Hab.  iii,  7.  Mede's  Work?,  p.  127. 

1  2  Kings  x,  15.    §  See  page  183. 


Ch.  VI.]  Their  Confession  of  Faith.  243 

Noah,  Abraham,  and  the  rest,  since  they  did  the 
offices  of  priests,  offered  sacrifices,  and  taught  reli- 
gion at  home  and  abroad,  in  proportion  to  the  light 
they  received  from  God. 

7thly.  The  prophets  are  also  of  this  number,  and 
were  raised  up  in  an  extraordinary  manner  for  the 
performance  of  the  most  holy  functions.  They  were 
at  first  called  seers,  they  discovered  future  things, 
they  declared  the  will  of  God,  and  spoke  to  both  kings 
and  people  with  a  surprising  confidence  and  freedom. 
Prophecy  was  not  always  annexed  to  the  priesthood ; 
there  were  prophets  of  all  the  tribes,  and  sometimes 
even  among  the  Gentiles  :*  and  the  office  of  a  prophet 
was  not  only  to  Joretel  what  should  afterwards  come 
to  pass,  it  was  their  business  likewise  to  instruct  the 
people,  and  they  interpreted  the  law  of  God  ;  inso- 
much that  the  word  prophet  sometimes  signifies  an 
interpreter  or  teacher.  But  of  both  patriarchs  and  pro- 
phets we  have  already  spoken. — See  page  21 — 30, 
and  page  131. 

CHAPTER   VI. 

The  Jewish  Confession  of  Faith. — Doctrine  of  Original 
Sin. — Opinion  of  the  Messiah's  Kingdom. 

NOTHING  more  facilitates  the  understanding  of  an 
author,  than  the  knowing  what  ends  he  proposed  tq 
himself  in  writing ;  and  we  can  never  well  understand 
what  these  views  were,  unless  we  know  what  were 
the  dispositions,  sentiments,  and  customs  of  those  for 
whom  he  wrote.  For  an  author  always  adapts  his 
discourse  to  all  these  things  ;  he  either  touches  upon 
them  transiently,  or  he  maintains  them,  or  he  refutes 
them.  And  from  hence  it  is  easy  to  perceive  how 
useful  it  is,  in  order  to  understand  the  gospel  and 
apostolical  epistles,  to  know  what  were  the  opinions 
and  usages  of  the  Jews,  at  the  time  when  the  authors 
of  the  New  Testament  wrote.  By  Jewish  opinions, 

*  Numb.  xi. 


244  Manners  of  the  Israelites.        [Part  IV, 

I  do  not  mean  the  precepts  and  doctrines  of  the  law, 
but  certain  traditions  which  they  pretend  were  left 
them  by  their  fathers,  which  are  now  found  in  the 
Talmud,  and  which  the  Jews,  who  are  strict  adhe- 
rents to  their  customs  and  ceremonies,  do  yet  observe 
to  this  day. 

The  confession  of  faith  which  contains  these  tradi- 
tions, consists  of  thirteen  articles,  but  they  are  not  all 
equally  ancient.  The  ninth,  which  declares  that  the 
law  of  Moses  cannot  be  abolished  by  any  other  law. 
was  evidently  drawn  up  against  the  Christian  religion. 
This  confession  of  faith,  as  represented  by  Buxtorf 
in  his  treatise  de  synagoga  Judaica,  is  as  follows  : 

"1 .  I  firmly  believe,  that  God,  blessed  be  his  name 
for  ever,  is  the  Creator  and  the  Master  of  all  things ; 
and  that  every  thing  was,  is,  and  will  be  made  for  him 
alone. 

"  2.  I  firmly  believe,  that  this  Creator  of  all  things, 
blessed  be  his  name  for  ever,  is  one,  by  a  unity 
peculiar  to  himself,  and  that  he  alone  has  been,  is, 
and  will  be  our  God. 

"  3.  I  firmly  believe,  that  this  Creator,  blessed  be 
his  name  for  ever,  is  not  corporeal,  nor  can  in  any 
manner  whatsoever  be  conceived  to  be  corporeal, 
and  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  world  that  is  like  him. 

"  4.  I  firmly  believe,  that  the  Creator,  blessed  be 
his  name  for  ever,  is  eternal,  and  that  he  is  the  begin- 
ning and  end  of  all  things. 

"  5.  I  firmly  believe,  that  the  Creator,  blessed  be 
his  holy  name  for  ever,  ought  alone  to  be  worshipped, 
exclusive  of  any  other  being. 

«  6.  I  firmly  believe,  that  all  the  words  of  the  pro- 
phets are  tine. 

"7.  I  firmly  believe,  that  all  the  prophecies  of 
Moses  our  master  (may  his  soul  rest  in  peace !)  are 
true,  and  that  he  is  superior  to  all  the  sages  who  went 
before  or  came  after  him. 

"  8.  I  firmly  believe,  that  the  law  which  we  have 
now  in  our  hands  was  given  by  inspiration  to  Moses. 

« 9.  I  firmly  believe,  that  this  law  will  never  br 


Oh.  VI.]  Their  Confession  of  Faith.  245 

changed,  and  that  the  Creator,  blessed  be  his  holy 
name,  will  never  give  another. 

"10.  I  firmly  believe,  that  the  Creator,  blessed  be 
his  holy  name,  knows  all  the  actions  and  all  the 
thoughts  of  men,  as  it  is  said,  *  He  hath  formed  the 
hearts  of  all  men,  and  is  not  ignorant  of  any  of  their 
works.'* 

"11.  1  firmly  believe,  that  the  Supreme  Creator 
rewards  those  who  keep  his  law,  and  punishes  those 
who  break  it. 

"12.  I  firmly  believe,  that  the  Messiah  must  come, 
and  though  his  coming  be  delayed,  I  will  always  ex- 
pect it,  till  he  does  appear. 

"13.  I  firmly  believe,  that  the  dead  will  rise  at  the 
time  appointed  by  the  Creator,  whose  name  be  bless- 
ed, and  his  glory  magnified  throughout  all  ages,  to 
all  eternity." 

The  Jews  were  so  strictly  attached  to  the  worship 
of  the  true  God,  long  before  the  birth  of  Jesus  Christ, 
that  no  remains  of  their  former  inclination  to  idolatry 
was  observed  in  them  ;f  and  therefore  neither  Jesus 
Christ  nor  his  apostles  cast  any  reproaches  upon 
them  on  that  account.  But  because  they  received 
several  other  doctrines,  which  it  is  of  some  import- 
ance to  know,  besides  those  contained  in  these  thir- 
teen articles,  I  shall  therefore  give  an  account  of 
them,  beginning  with  that  which  relates  to  the  birth 
of  man. 

The  rabbins  acknowledge,  that  there  is  in  man  a 
fund  of  corruption  ;  and  the  Talmud  speaks  of  ori- 
ginal sin  thus,  "  We  ought  not  to  be  surprised  that 
the  sin  of  Eve  and  Adam  was  so  deeply  engraven, 
and  that  it  was  as  it  were  sealed  with  the  king's  sig- 

*  Psalm  xxxiii,  15. 

t  The  true  reason  why  the  Jews  were  so  prone  to  idolatry  before 
the  Babylonish  captivity,  and  why  they  were  so  cautiously  fixed 
against  it  ever  after  that  captivity,  plainly  appears  to  be  this,  that  they 
had  the  law  and  the  prophets  read  to  them  every  week  in  their  syna- 
gogues after  the  captivity,  which  they  had  not  before  :  for  they  had 
no  synagogues  till  after  it.  Pud.  Con.  part  1,  b.  6.  Under  the  yeap 
«4,  p.  559  of  the  Svo.  edition. 

21* 


246  Manners  of  the  Israelites.        [Part  IV 

net,  that  it  might  be  thereby  transmitted  to  all  theii 
posterity  ;  it  was  because  all  things  were  finished  the 
day  that  Adam  was  created,  and  he  was  the  perfec- 
tion and  consummation  of  the  world  ;  so  that  when 
he  sinned  all  the  world  sinned  with  him.  We  partake 
of  his  sin,  and  share  in  the  punishment  of  it,  but  not 
in  the  sins  of  his  descendants." 

The  rabbins  teach,  that  the  wounds  which  were 
made  in  man  by  sin,  will  be  cured  by  the  Messiah  : 
but  they  say  there  will  be  two  Messiahs,  one  of  which 
shall  be  put  to  death,  and  the  other  shall  appear  with 
glory.  As  to  the  time  of  his  coming,  they  acknow- 
ledge that  their  fathers  believed  that  the  space  which 
the  world  was  to  last  was  six  thousand  years  ;  that  of 
these  God  appointed  two  thousand  for  the  law  of  na- 
ture, two  thousand  for  the  law  of  Moses,  and  two  thou- 
sand for  the  Messiah;  and  that,  according  to  this 
account,  the  Messiah  must  have  come  much  about 
the  same  time  that  Jesus  Christ  was  born  and  died : 
but,  say  they,  the  iniquities  of  men,  which  are  increa- 
sed ad  infinitum,  have  obliged  God  to  let  a  great  part 
of  this  last  two  thousand  years  pass  away,  before  the 
coming  of  the  Messiah.  And  they  now  forbid  the 
making  of  any  computation  of  the  years  of  his  coming. 

The  Jews  hate  all  the  rest  of  mankind  ;  they  even 
think  themselves  obliged  to  kill  them,  unless  they  sub- 
mit to  the  precepts  given  to  Noah ;  and  no  body  is 
with  them  their  neighbour  but  an  Israelite.*  And 
what  praises  soever  they  may  give  to  the  law  of  Moses, 
yet  they  think  it  lawful  for  them  to  break  it  to  save 
their  lives.  They  seldom  make  use  of  the  name  of 
God  in  their  oaths :  when  they  do,  it  makes  them 
inviolable  :  but  when  they  swear  by  the  creatures, 
they  do  not  look  on  those  as  sacred  ;  nor  do  they 
make  any  scruple  of  breaking  them  :  and  this  gave 

*  As  this  is  an  avowed  sentiment  of  all  the  ancient  and  modern 
Jews,  (see  page  192)  we  may  see  how  dangerous  it  would  be  to  permit 
them  to  have  any  rule  or  influence  in  any  nation  under  the  sun.  Had 
they  strength  and  authority,  their  career  would  be  like  that  of  Moham- 
med, every  man  roust  be  butchered  who  would  not  submit  to  be  cir- 
camcued. 


Ch.  VII.]  Of  the  Hebrew  Talent.  247 

occasion  to  Jesus  Christ  and  his  apostles  to  forbid 
the  use  of  all  sorts  of  swearing,*  in  order  thereby  to 
correct  that  horrid  abuse  of  oaths  which  was  common 
among  the  Jews,  when  the  name  of  God  was  not  in 
(hem. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Of  the  Hebrew  Talent,  and  how  to  reduce  it  into  English 
money. 

BEFORE  the  value  of  any  number  of  talents  of  gold 
can  be  found  in  sterling  money,  at  the  rate  the  gold 
in  Great  Britain  is  now  valued  at,  which  is  21  shillings 
the  guinea,  this  must  be  premised,  viz.  that  the  learned 
doctor  Prideaux,  dean  of  Norwich,  in  his  valuation 
of  a  talent  of  gold,  makes  it  sixteen  times  the  present 
value  of  a  talent  of  silver ;  and,  according  to  that 
valuation,  one  pound  weight  of  pure  gold  is  only 
equal  in  value  to  sixteen  pounds  weight  of  silver  that 
has  eighteen  pennyweights  of  alloy  in  each  pound 
weight  of  it,  and  so  the  gold  is  4/.  an  ounce,  which 
indeed  is  the  present  value  of  an  ounce  of  pure  gold ; 
but  forasmuch  as  the  standard  for  the  gold  coin  of 
Great  Britain  is  twenty-two  caracts,  fine,  i.  e.  the 
twelfth  part  of  every  ounce  of  it  is  alloy,  and  so  an 
ounce  of  it  is  of  less  value  than  41.  sterling. 

The  best  way  to  find  the  present  value  of  one 
ounce,  or  any  other  quantity,  is  by  the  rule  of  three 
direct  proportion,  to  say, 

As  5  dw.  9  gr.  is  to  21s.  so  is  1  oz.  to  78.1394s. 

Note,  five  pennyweights,  nine  grains,  is  the  exact 
weight  of  one  guinea.  And  as  five  pennyweights, 
nine  grains,  is  in  proportion  to  twenty-one  shillings,  so 
is  one  ounce,  troy  weight,  in  proportion  to  78.1394s. 
*.  e.  3/.  18s.  lf</.  sterling  ;  and  so  much  one  ounce 
troy,  of  the  coined  gold  of  Great  Britain  is  worth,  at 
the  rate  of  twenty-one  shillings  the  guinea.  But  ;i 
crown,  which  is  one  ounce  troy  weight,  is  better 
*  Matt,  v,  34. 


248  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  IV. 

worth  five  shillings  sterling,  than  an  ounce  of  the 
gold  coin  of  Great  Britain  is  worth  31.  18s.  Ifrf. 
sterling,  because  one  twelfth  of  the  gold  coin  is  alloy, 
and  there  is  not  so  much  in  the  silver  coin. 

Now  to  find  the  present  value  of  any  number  of 
Hebrew  talents  of  gold,  this  is  the  rule  : 

Multiply  78.1394s.  (the  present  value  of  an  ounce 
troy  of  the  gold  coin  of  Great  Britain)  by  1800 
ounces  troy,  (the  weight  of  a  Hebrew  talent,)  and 
the  product  will  be  the  value  of  that  talent  in  shillings 
sterling,  or  in  shillings  and  part  of  a  shilling  sterling ; 
then  multiply  the  product  by  the  number  of  talents, 
the  next  or  second  product  will  be  the  value  of  all 
the  talents  in  shillings  sterling,  or  in  shillings  and  part 
of  a  shilling  sterling  .  divide  the  second  product  by 
twenty,  (the  shillings  in  the  pound  sterling,)  and  the 
quotient  will  be  the  present  value  of  all  the  talents  in 
pounds  sterling,  or  in  pounds  sterling  and  part  of  a 
pound  sterling.  And  so  the  present  value  of  the  hun- 
dred and  twenty  talents  of  gold  which  it  is  said, 
1  Kings  x,  10,  the  queen  of  Sheba  gave  to  king  Solo- 
mon, will  be  found  to  be  843905.521.  i.  e  eight  hun- 
dred forty-three  thousand  nine  hundred  and  five 
pounds,  ten  shillings,  and  four  pence  three  farthings, 
sterling. 

For  if  78.1394s.  be  multiplied  by  1800  ounces,  the 
product  will  be  140650,92s.  which  multiplied  by  120, 
the  next  product  will  be  16878110.40s.  which  divi- 
ded by  20s.  the  quotient  will  be  843905. 521  equal  to 
843,905 J.  10s.  4d.  %q.  sterling. 

It  is  said  that  'King  Solomon  made  two  hundred 
targets  of  beaten  gold  ;  six  hundred  shekels  of  beaten 
gold  went  to  one  target,'  2  Chron.  ix,  15.  'King 
Solomon  made  likewise  three  hundred  shields  of 
beaten  gold  ;  three  hundred  shekels  of  gold  went  to 
«ne  shield,'  2  Chron.  ix,  16. 

To  find  the  value  of  two  hundred  targets,  I  con- 
sider that  one  target  is  one  fifth  of  the  weight  of  a 
talent ;  for  a  talent  is  3000  shekels,  and  a  target  is 
feut  600,  which  is  the  fifth  of  3000,  therefore  one  of 


Ch.  VII. ]         Of  Solomon's  Targets.  249 

the  targets  of  gold  is  but  one  fifth  the  value  of  a 
talent  of  gold  :  and  so  this  will  be  the  rule  : 

Divide  140650.920  (i.  e.  the  shillings  sterling  that 
are  equal  to  one  talent  of  gold)  by  five,  the  quotient 
will  be  28130  184s.  (i.  e.  the  value  of  one  target,) 
which  multiply  by  200,  (the  number  of  the  targets,) 
the  product  will  be  the  value  of  the  200  targets  in 
shillings  sterling ;  divide  the  product  by  20s.  the  quo- 
tient will  be  the  value  of  the  200  targets  in  pounds 
and  part  of  a  pound  sterling,  viz.  281 301. 84/.  equal 
to  281, SOU.  16s.  9±d.  See  the  operation  following. 

Example. 
5)  140650.920s.  equal  to  one  talent  of  gold. 

Quotient,       28130.184.?.  equal  to  one  target  of  gold. 
200  targets. 

Product,     5626036.800s.  equal  to  two  hundred  targets. 
20)  5626036.80s. 


Quotient,  281301.84*.  equal  to  28l,301J.  16s.  9$d. 

To  find  the  value  of  the  300  shields  of  gold,  each 
containing  300  shekels,  equal  to  one  half  of  a  target, 
the  rule  is  : 

Multiply  14065.092s.  (i.  e.  the  value  of  one  shield, 
equal  to  half  the  value  of  one  target,)  by  300,  (the 
number  of  shields,)  the  product  will  be  the  value  of 
the  300  shields  in  shillings  and  part  of  a  shilling  ster- 
ling :  divide  the  product  by  20,  the  quotient  will  be 
the  pounds  and  part  of  a  pound  sterling  that  are  equal 
in  value  to  the  300  shields,  viz.  210976. 38/.  equal  to 
210,976J.  7s.  7d.  See  the  operation  following  : 

Example. 

14065.092s.  the  value  of  one  shield. 
300  shields. 


Product,      4219527  600s.  equal  to  300  shields. 
20)  4219527.600s. 


Quotient,       210976.38Z.  equal  to  210976/.  7s.  7d. 

In  1  Kings  x,  14,  we  are  told  that  the  weight  of 
gold  that  came  to  Solomon  in  one  year,  was  666 


250  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  IV. 

talents.  And  by  the  preceding  rule  the  reader  will 
find  that  this  annual  income  amounted  to  4,683,675/, 
12s.  8Arf.  sterling.* 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Some  Account  of  the  Ancient  Samaritans. 

As  the  history  of  this  singular  people  is  so  inti- 
mately connected  with  that  of  the  ancient  Israelites, 
it  may  not  be  improper  to  give  a  short  account  of 
them  in  this  place. 

About  the  year  of  the  world  3295,  709  before  the 
Christian  era,  Sennacherib  king  of  Assyria,  having 
failed  in  his  attempts  upon  Judea,  and  becoming 
cruel  and  tyrannical  even  among  his  own  people,  in 
consequence  of  his  disappointment,  was  slain  by  his 
two  eldest  sons,  Jldramelech  and  Sharezar,  while  wor- 
shipping in  the  house  of  his  god  Nisroch.  The  par- 
ricides having  fled,  Esarhaddon  the  third  son,  assu- 
med the  reins  of  government  in  the  Assyrian  empire,  f 
After  he  had  fully  settled  his  authority  in  Babylon, 
he  began  to  set  his  heart  on  the  recovery  of  what 
had  been  lost  to  the  empire  of  the  Assyrians,  in  Syria 
and  Palestine,  on  the  destruction  of  his  father's 
army  in  Judea.  Having  gathered  together  a  great 
army,  he  marched  into  the  land  of  Israel,  and  took 
captive  all  those  who  were  the  remains  of  the  former 
captivity  (a  few  excepted  who  escaped  into  the  moun- 
tains, &c.)  and  carried  them  away  into  Babylon 
and  Assyria.  As  the  land  was  in  danger  of  becoming 
entirely  desolate  through  lack  of  inhabitants,  he 
brought  colonies  from  Babylon,  Cutha,  Jlva,  Hamath, 
and  Sepharvaim,  and  established  them  in  the  cities 
of  Samaria,  instead  of  those  whom  he  had  carried 

*  These  calculations,  in  which  I  have  followed  Mr.  Reynolds,  (State 
of  the  greatest  Kins;,  &c.  p.  58)  will  be  found  materially  to  differ  from 
those  of  the  Abbe  Fleury,  in  p.  160,  161,  of  this  Work ;  but  as  they 
appeared  to  me  to  be  perfectly  correct,  I  judged  them  of  too  much 
ronsequence  to  be  omitted. 

|2  Kings  xix,  37.  1  Chron.  xxxii,  21.  Isai.  xxxviii,  39. 


Ch.  VIII.  ]     Of  the  Ancient  Samaritans.  251 

into  captivity.*  And  thus  the  ten  tribes  which  had 
separated  from  the  house  of  David  were  brought  to 
an  utter  destruction,  and  could  never  afterwards 
assume  any  political  consequence. 

It  appears  that  some  considerable  time  must  have 
elapsed  from  the  captivity  of  the  Israelites  of  Sama- 
ria, before  the  above  heathen  colonies  were  brought 
in ;  for  we  find  immediately  on  their  settling  they 
were  much  infested  with  lions,  commissioned  by 
the  Lord  to  be  a  scourge  to  these  idolaters,!  and 
which,  we  may  suppose,  had  multiplied  greatly  after 
the  desolation  of  the  land.  The  king  of  Babylon 
being  told  that  it  was  because  they  worshipped  not 
the  God  of  the  country,  that  they  were  plagued  with 
these  ferocious  animals,  ordered  that  one  of  the  cap- 
tive Jewish  priests  should  be  sent  back,  to  teach 
these  new  settlers  the  manner  of  the  God  of  the  land  ;\ 
i.  e.  how  to  worship  the  God  of  Israel,  as  it  was  an 
ancient  opinion  among  the  heathens,  that  each  dis- 
trict and  country  had  its  peculiar  and  tutelary  deities. 
A  priest  was  accordingly  sent  back,  who  took  up  his 
residence  at  Beth-el,  and  there  established  the  wor- 
ship of  the  true  God,  and  the  heathens  incorporated 
this  worship  with  that  which  they  paid  to  their  idols. 
The  few  remaining  Jews  soon  became  miserably 
corrupted  both  in  their  manners  and  religion,  and 
while  Jehovah  was  ieared  because  of  his  supposed 
superior  influence  in  that  land,  all  the  other  gods  of 
the  Babylonians,  Cuthites,  Hamathites,  Avites,  and 
Sepharvites,  had  divine  honours  paid  to  them. 

This  monstrous  mixture  of  idolatry  with  the  wor- 
ship of  the  true  God,  continued  for  about  three  hun- 
dred years,  till  the  building  of  the  Samaritan  temple 
on  mount  Gerizim,  by  Sanballat  the  Horonite,  about 
A.  M.  3595,  B.  C.  409.  As  the  Jewish  priesthood 
had  been  greatly  corrupted  by  impure  connexions 
and  heathenish  alliances,  Sanballat  found  no  diificulty 
to  procure  a  priest,  a  regular  descendant  of  the  house 
of  Aaron,  to  officiate  in  the  schismatical  temple  which 

*  2  Kings  xvii,  84.  Ezra  iv,  0,10.     1 2  Kings  xvii,  25.    }  Ibid,  v,  26. 


352  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  IV. 

he  had  lately  erected  :  for  one  of  the  sons  of  Joiada 
the  highpriest,  whom  Josephus  calls  Manasseh,* 
having  married  the  daughter  of  Sanballat,  and  refii- 
sing  to  separate  from  her  when  Nehemiah  insisted  on 
all  the  Jews  to  put  away  their  strange  wives  or  to 
depart  the  country,  Manasseh  fled  to  Samaria,  and 
there  became  highpriest  of  the  temple  on  mount 
Gerizim,  built  by  his  father-in-law.  Samaria  now 
became  a  common  asylum  for  refractory  Jews  ;  for 
all  who  had  violated  the  law  by  eating  forbidden 
meats,  &c.,  and  were  called  to  account  for  it,  fled  to 
the  Samaritans,  by  whom  they  were  kindly  received ; 
and  as  multitudes  had  apostatized  in  this  way,  in 
process  of  time  the  major  part  of  the  people  was 
made  up  of  apostate  Jews  and  their  descendants. 
This  soon  brought  about  a  general  change  in  the 
religion  of  the  country ;  for  as  they  had  hitherto 
worshipped  the  God  of  Israel  only  in  conjunction 
with  their  false  gods,  after  a  temple  was  built  among 
them,  in  which  the  daily  service  was  constantly  per- 
formed in  the  very  same  manner  as  in  Jerusalem, 
and  the  law  of  Moses  brought  to  Samaria  and  there 
publicly  read,  they  abandoned  the  worship  of  their 
idols,  and  became  wholly  conformed  to  the  worship 
of  the  true  God,  in  which  they  have  hitherto  conti- 
nued with  undeviating  exactness ;  being  in  many 
respects  more  conscientious  than  the  Jews  them- 
selves, f  The  Jews,  however,  considering  them  as 
apostates,  hate  them  worse  than  any  other  nation ; 
and  the  Samaritans  consider  the  Jews  their  worst 
and  most  inveterate  enemies. 

It  is  necessary  to  observe,  that  as  out  of  Samaria 
no  prophet  arose  after  this  time,  and  the  Jewish 
prophets  having  inveighed  strongly  against  the  Sama- 
ritan corruptions,  they  have  never  received  the  pro- 
phetical writings  of  the  Hebrews,  and  have  none  of 
their  own :  so  that  all  they  acknowledge  of  the 
Jewish  Scriptures  to  be  divine,  is  the  five  books  of 

*  Antiq.  b.  xi,  c.  7.     f  Prideaux.  Connex.  vol.  i,  p.  42,  &c.  vol. 
ii>p.588,&c. 


Ch.  IX.]    Samaritans  in  Judea  and  Egypt.  253 

Moses,  which  they  have  in  the  most  scrupulous  and 
conscientious  manner  preserved  till  the  present  day ; 
and  to  them  the  republic  of  letters  is  obliged  for  the 
preservation  of  the  ancient  genuine  Hebrew  charac- 
ter, now  called  the  Samaritan,  which  was  thrown 
aside  by  Ezra  when  he  published  a  connected  edition 
of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  in  which  he  used 
the  Chaldee  character,  since  improperly  termed  the 
Hebrew.*  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  observe,  that 
the  Pentateuch  is  printed  in  this  ancient  Hebrew 
character,  in  the  first  volume  of  the  London  Poly- 
glott,  and  its  various  readings  are  given  in  a  parallel 
column  in  the  first  volume  of  Dr.  Kennicott's  Hebrew 
Bible. 

Having  taken  this  general  view  of  the  rise  and 
continuance  of  this  remarkable  sect,  it  may  be  neces- 
sary next  to  consider  what  their  present  state  is,  both 
in  a  religious  and  civil  point  of  view. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

.2  short  Account  of  the  Samaritans  in  Judea  and  Egypt. 

THE  present  state  of  the  Samaritans  in  Egypt  and 
Judea  cannot  be  better  known  than  from  Dr.  Hun- 
tington's  Letters.  This  learned  Englishman  had 
seen  them  at  Cairo  and  Napolussa,  had  corresponded 
with  them,  and  examined  them  upon  several  things, 
which  common  travellers  generally  omit. 

"  There  are  no  Samaritans,"  he  observes,  "  at 
Damascus ;  and  though  those  of  Sichem  boast  of 
their  numerous  brethren  at  Cairo,  I  saw  there  but 
one  Samaritan  and  his  wife,  who  were  very  poor. 
The  synagogue  is  a  little,  nasty,  and  obscure  cham- 
ber. Here  are  kept  two  copies  of  the  law,  which 
may  be  about  five  hundred  years  old.  They  have  a 
form  of  prayer,  and  a  book  which  they  call  Joshua, 

*  See  a  farther  account  of  this  in  the  Bibliographical  Dictionary, 
vol.  vii,  Succession  of  Sacred  Literature,  under  the  article  Ezra. 

22 


254  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  IV. 

which  contains  a  very  short  chronicle  from  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world  to  Mohammed.  This  false  prophet 
is  cursed  at  the  end  of  the  book,  but  that  word  is 
written  in  Samaritan,  that  the  Arabians  may  not 
understand  it ;  lastly,  they  keep  in  this  little  library 
some  commentaries  on  the  law,  written  in  Arabic. 
This  is  the  language  in  common  use,  except  when 
they  quote  any  passage  of  the  law,  or  write  the 
names  of  their  highpriests,  for  then  they  use  the 
Samaritan  characters. 

Those  of  Sichem  or  Napolussa  are  for  the  most 
part  farmers  of  the  customs,  and  collectors  of  the 
tribute  at  Sichem,  Gaza,  Joppa,  or  else  are  secreta- 
ries to  the  Bassa,  which  gives  them  some  counte- 
nance. They  walk  the  streets  well  enough  dressed, 
and  are  not  so  miserable  as  in  other  places.  Their 
principal,  Merchab  ben  Yacoub,  wrote  to  me  at  Jeru- 
salem. The  letters  were  signed  by  eighteen  persons, 
which  were  almost  all  of  consideration  at  Sichem. 

This  commissary  of  the  customs  was  afterwards 
obliged  to  retire  to  Leghorn,  because  of  the  persecu- 
tions he  met  with  in  the  holy  land.  These  Samari- 
tans boast  of  having  a  copy  of  the  law  written  by  the 
hand  of  Misha.  "  We  have,"  say  they  in  their  let- 
ters, "  a  sacred  writing;  'tis  the  copy  of  the  law,  in 
which  are  found  these  wTords  ;  '  I,  Abisha,  the  son  of 
Phineas,  the  son  of  Eleasar,  the  son  of  Aaron  the 
highpriest,  have  transcribed  this  copy  at  the  door  of 
the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  in  the  thirteenth 
year  ot  the  children  of  Israel's  entrance  into  the  holy 
land,  or  upon  the  frontiers.' "  The  Samaritans  having 
boasted  of  this  copy,  I  was  willing,  in  a  second  jour- 
ney I  made  to  Sichem,  to  examine  the  truth  of  the 
fact  with  my  own  eyes.  But  I  turned  over  the  manu- 
script long  enough  without  finding  the  words  ;  and 
the  Samaritans,  who  were  present,  confessed  that 
these  words  were  not  now  in  their  copy ;  that  they 
were  there  formerly,  but  somebody  had  maliciously 
expunged  them. 


Ch.  IX.]  Of  the  Samaritans.  255 

Thus,  instead  of  honestly  acknowledging  their  im- 
posture, they  face  it  with  a  new  falsehood,  and  sacri- 
fice their  conscience  to  a  chimerical  antiquity."  All 
the  Samaritans  hate  the  Jews  mortally ;  for  this  tra- 
veller relates,  that  they  having  one  day  asked  him 
whether  there  were  Hebrews  in  his  country,  they 
were  overjoyed  to  hear  there  were ;  but  when  he 
went  to  undeceive  them,  because  they  took  the  Jews 
of  England  for  Samaritans,  they  would  not  believe 
him  :  "  No,  no  !"  cried  they,  "  they  are  Israelites, 
Hebrews,  our  most  brotherly  brethren."  As  they  do 
not  give  the  Jews  the  title  of  Hebrews,  or  Israelites, 
they  think  all  nations  do  the  like.  And  indeed  they 
fancy  that  they  are  the  only  stock  of  ancient  Israel. 
One  of  them  had  a  design  to  come  and  see  those 
whom  he  called  his  brethren  in  England  ;  but  under- 
standing he  must  be  upon  the  sea  on  the  sabbath,  he 
thought  it  was  breaking  the  rest  of  it,  and  would 
hear  no  more  of  the  voyage  ;  for  they  observe  the 
sabbath  with  the  utmost  strictness.  They  do  not 
pronounce  the  name  Jehovah,  but  make  use  of  the 
word  Sema  HVV.  Mr.  Ludolf,  with  a  great  deal  of 
reason,  believed  it  to  be  the  word  Shem  OSP,  which 
signifies  the  NAME,  by  way  of  eminence.  What  is 
more  surprising  is,  that  the  Christians  of  Egypt  do 
the  same  thing,  never  pronouncing  the  word  Phta, 
which  is  the  name  the  Egyptians  gave  God,  to  signify 
that  he  did  every  thing  without  fraud,  with  art  and 
truth.  But  they  call  God  Ebrudi." 

"  Their  notions  of  the  Messiah  are  very  confused 
and  very  different ;  but  they  always  speak  honourably 
of  him,  and  they  do  not  declaim  much  against  those 
that  worship  him.  Their  hatred  to  the  other  Jews 
makes  them  more  moderate  perhaps  to  the  Chris- 
tians." 

To  omit  nothing  that  concerns  the  religion  of  the 
Samaritans,  I  shall  here  add  the  confession  of  faith 
which  the  highpriest  Eleazar  sent  to  Scaliger,  in  the 
name  of  the  synagogue  of  Sichtm,  which  that  great 
man  consulted. 


256  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  IV. 

"1.  The  Samaritans  observe  the  sabbath  with  all 
the  exactness  required  in  Exodus.  For  none  of 
them  goes  out  of  the  place  where  he  is  on  the  sab- 
bath day,  but  only  to  go  to  the  synagogue,  where  they 
read  the  law  and  sing  God's  praises.  They  do  not 
sleep  that  night  with  their  wives,  and  neither  kindle, 
nor  order  fire  to  be  kindled  ;  whereas  the  Jews  trans- 
gress the  sabbath  in  all  these  points.  For  they  go 
out  of  town,  have  fire  made,  sleep  with  their  wives, 
and  even  do  not  make  use  of  proper  ablutions. 

"  2.  They  hold  the  passover  to  be  their  first  festival. 
They  begin  at  sunset  by  the  sacrifice  enjoined  for 
that  purpose  in  Exodus.  But  they  sacrifice  nowhere 
but  on  mount  Gerizim,  where  they  read  the  law,  and 
offer  prayers  unto  God,  after  which  the  priest  dis- 
misses the  whole  congregation  with  a  blessing. 

"  3.  They  celebrate  for  seven  days  together  the 
feast  of  the  harvest ;  but  thp.y  dn  not  agree  with  the 
Jews  concerning  the  day  on  which  it  should  begin. 
For  these  reckon  the  next  day  after  the  solemnity  of 
the  passover  ;  whereas  the  Samaritans  reckon  fifty 
days,  beginning  the  next  day  after  the  sabbath,  which 
happens  in  the  week  of  unleavened  bread,  and  the 
next  day  after  the  seventh  sabbath  following,  the 
i'east  of  the  harvest  begins. 

"  4.  They  observe  the  feast  of  expiation  the  tenth 
of  the  seventh  month.  They  employ  the  four-and- 
twenty  hours  of  the  day  in  prayers  to  God,  and  sing- 
ing his  praises,  and  fasting.  For  all  except  sucking- 
children  fast ;  whereas  the  Jews  except  children 
under  seven  years  of  age. 

"  5.  The  fifteenth  of  the  same  month  they  cele- 
brate the  feast  of  the  tabernacles  upon  the  same  mount 
Gerizim. 

"  6.  They  never  defer  circumcision  farther  than  the 
eighth  day,  as  it  is  commanded  in  Genesis  ;  whereas 
the  Jews  sometimes  defer  it  longer. 

"  7.  They  are  obliged  to  wash  themselves  in  the 
morning,  when  they  have  slept  with  their  wives,  or 
have  contracted  any  defilement  in  the  night ;  and  all 


Ch.  IX.]       Samaritan  Confession  of  Faith.          257 

vessels  that  may  become  unclean,  are  denied  when 
any  such  unclean  person  touches  them. 

"  8.  They  take  away  the  fat  from  sacrifices,  and 
give  the  priests  the  shoulder,  the  jaws,  and  belly. 

"  9.  They  never  marry  their  nieces  as  the  Jews  do, 
and  have  but  one  wife ;  whereas  the  Jews  may  have 
many. 

"  10.  They  believe  in  God,  in  Jlfoses,  and  mount 
Gerizim.  Whereas  the  Jews  put  their  trust  in  others. 
We  do  nothing,  say  they,  but  what  is  expressly  com- 
manded in  the  law  by  the  Lord,  who  made  use' of  the 
ministry  of  Moses.  But  the  Jews  swerve  from  what 
the  Lord  hath  commanded  in  the  law,  to  observe  what 
their  fathers  and  doctors  have  invented." 

Thus  far  their  creed  sent  to  Scaliger.  They  say, 
that  Mr.  Huntington  persuaded  them  they  had  bre- 
thren at  London ;  but  he  says  that  the  Samaritans 
were  misled  by  the  name  of  Israelites,  and  thought 
that  all  who  went  by  the  name  of  Hebrews  were  Sa- 
maritans. Some  fraud  seems  to  have  been  practised 
upon  them  relative  to  this  subject,  in  order  to  get  a 
copy  of  their  law,  and  they  certainly  did  entrust  him 
with  a  copy  of  then1  Pentateuch  which  Dr.  Hunting- 
ton  seems  to  have  requested  from  them  in  the  name 
of  their  pretended  Samaritan  brethren  in  England  : 
at  least,  so  am  I  led  to  understand  their  letter  to  these 
English  Samaritans,  a  translation  of  which  I  subjoin 
from  Basnage,  that  the  fact  may  speak  for  itself. 
Indeed  it  is  a  literary  curiosity,  and  being  perfectly 
authentic,  is  worthy  of  particular  attention. 

A  Letter  of  the  Samaritans,  to  their  Brethren  in 
England. 

IN  the  name  of  the  Almighty,  adorable  God;  in  the 
name  of  the  great  Lord,  who  is  by  himself,  our  God, 
the  God  of  our  fathers  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
who  has  said  in  his  law,  "  I  am  the  God  of  Bethel," 
the  supreme  God,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  God 
Almighty,  who  has  sent  Moses  the  son  of  Amram, 
commissioned  with  his  laws,  and  by  his  means  ha* 


'258  Manners  of  the  Israelites.        [Part  IV. 

revealed  the  holiness  of  mount  Gerizim,  and  of  the 
house  of  God. 

We  salute  you,  oh  synagogue  of  Israel,  the  peo- 
ple of  our  Lord  and  master,  who  has  chosen  this 
people  above  all  nations  of  the  earth  ;  for  you  are  a 
people  holy  to  the  Lord.  We  call  ourselves  Sama- 
ritans, and  we  assure  you,  our  brethren  in  Israel,  that 
we  are  extremely  devoted  to  Moses  the  prophet,  and 
to  the  holy  law.  We  observe  the  sabbath  as  God  , 
has  commanded,  for  on  that  day  nobody  moves  out 
of  his  place,  except  it  be  to  pay  his  devotions  at  the 
house  of  the  Lord.  As  all  those  who  sought  God 
went  to  the  tabernacle  of  witness,  we  do  nothing 
there  but  read  the  law,  praise  God,  and  pay  him  our 
thanksgivings  ;  and  whereas  the  Jews  ride  on  horse- 
back, go  out  of  the  city,  light  fires  on  that  day,  and 
converse  with  their  wives  :  we  separate  ourselves  the 
night  of  the  sabbath,  and  light  no  fire.  The  Jews 
do  not  wash  after  every  kind  of  pollution,  but  we  do, 
and  purify  ourselves  thereby.  We  pray  to  God  eve- 
ning and  morning  according  to  the  command  he  has 
given  us,  *  You  shall  offer  me  a  lamb  in  the  morning, 
and  another  lamb  between  the  two  evenings.'  We 
lie  upon  the  ground  when  we  worship  God  before 
mount  Gerizim,  the  house  of  God. 

We  have  seven  solemn  feasts  wherein  we  assemble. 
The  first  is  the  feast  of  the  passover,  at  the  time  that 
our  fathers  came  out  of  Egypt.  We  sacrifice  the 
lamb  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  first  month,  at  eve- 
ning; a  little  before  sunsetting  and  eat  it  roasted, 
with  unleavened  bread  and  bitter  herbs.  We  make 
this  sacrifice  only  upon  mount  Gerizim  ;  and  we  pre- 
pare it  on  the  first  day  of  the  month  Nisan,  accord- 
ing to  the  Greeks.  We  reckon  seven  days  for  the 
feast  of  unleavened  bread ;  six  whereof  we  eat  bread 
without  leaven.  On  the  seventh  we  go  early  at  break 
of  day  to  mount  Gerizim,  to  celebrate  the  feast  and 
read  the  law.  When  prayers  are  ended  the  priest 
gives  the  blessing  to  the  people  from  the  top  of  the 
eternal  mountain.  We  do  not  begin  to  reckon  the 


Ch.  IX.]  Samaritan  Epistle.  259 

fifty  days  of  the  feast  of  the  harvest,  like  the  Jews, 
from  the  morrow  of  the  feast  of  the  passover,  but  we 
reckon  them  from  the  day  following  the  sabbath,  that 
happens  in  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread,  till  the  mor- 
row of  the  seventh  sabbath,  on  which  we  celebrate 
the  feast  of  harvest  upon  Gerizim.  We  celebrate 
also  the  seventh  month,  which  begins  with  the  feasl 
of  trumpets.  Ten  days  after  is  that  of  propitiations  ; 
in  which  we  sing  hymns  and  say  prayers,  from  one 
clay  to  the  other  night  and  day.  The  women  and 
children  fast  as  well  as  the  men,  and  we  dispense 
with  none  but  those  that  suck;  whereas  the  Jews 
dispense  with  all  under  seven  years  old.  We  ob- 
serve the  feast  of  tabernacles  upon  mount  Gerizim 
the  fifteenth  of  the  seventh  month.  We  set  up  taber- 
nacles, according  to  the  order  given  us  by  God,  « Ye 
shall  take  you  the  boughs  of  goodly  trees,  branches 
of  palm  trees,  and  the  boughs  of  thick  trees  and 
willows  of  the  brook.'  We  spend  seven  days  in  joy 
under  these  tents,  and  on  the  eighth  we  end  the  feast 
of  the  Lord  with  a  hymn. 

We  very  circumspectly  observe  whether  the  con- 
junction of  the  sun  and  moon  happen  in  the  night,  or 
'in  the  day  before  noon.  If  it  happen  before  noon, 
that  day  is  the  first  of  the  month  ;  but  if  it  happen  at 
twelve  o'clock,  or  a  little  after,  we  delay  the  begin- 
ning of  the  month  till  the  morrow.  If  the  conjunc- 
tion be  lunar,  the  month  continues  twenty-nine  days, 
but  thirty  if  it  be  solar.  If  the  new  moon  falls  on 
the  eleventh  of  the  month  Mar  of  the  Greeks,  we 
intercalate  a  month,  and  reckon  thirteen  that  year. 
And  the  month  that  immediately  follows  is  the  first 
month  of  the  year.  But  if  the  month  begins  on  tin 
twelfth  of  Adar  or  some  days  after,  then  that  is  the 
first  month  of  the  year,  and  we  reckon  but  twelve  ; 
for  the  week  of  unleavened  bread  must  be  in  the 
month  JW'san.  The  Jews  reckon  otherwise  than  we . 
we  begin  the  sabbatic  year  and  the  jubilee  from  the 
first  day  of  the  seventh  month. 


260  Manners  of  the  Israelites.          [Part  IV. 

We  sprinkle  the  water  of  separation  the  third  and 
fourth  days,  upon  all  that  are  defiled  by  the  contact 
of  women,  and  we  sprinkle  it  seven  days  upon  the 
woman  who  has  an  issue  upon  her.  The  woman 
who  is  delivered  of  a  boy,  separates  only  forty-one 
days  ;  and  eighty  if  it  be  a  girl :  the  circumcision  is 
made  exactly  on  the  eighth  day  after  the  birth,  with- 
out deferring  it  one  single  day,  as  do  the  Jews.  We 
purify  ourselves  from  the  defilements  contracted  in 
sleep,  and  we  touch  none  of  the  unclean  things  spe- 
cified in  the  law  without  washing  in  clean  water. 
We  offer  to  God  the  fat  of  the  victim,  and  gire  the 
priest  the  shoulder,  the  jaw,  and  the  ventricle. 

It  is  not  lawful  for  us  to  marry  a  niece,  or  a  cousin, 
as  is  done  by  the  Jews.  We  believe  in  Moses,  and 
in  mount  Gerizim.  We  have  priests  of  the  race  of 
Levi,  descended  in  a  right  line  from  Aaron  and  Phi- 
neas.  We  are  all  of  the  tribe  of  Joseph,  by  Ephraim, 
Manasses ;  and  of  the  tribe  of  Levi.  Our  habitation 
is  in  the  holy  city  of  Sichem,  and  at  Gaza  ;  we  have 
a  copy  of  the  law,  written  in  the  time  of  grace,  in 
which  we  read  these  words  :  /,  Jlbishai,  the  son  of 
Phineas,  the  son  of  Eleazar,  the  son  of  Jlaron,  have 
written  this  copy  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle,  in  the 
thirteenth  year  of  the  people  of  Israel's  entrance  into  the 
land  of  Canaan,  upon  its  frontiers.  We  read  this  law 
in  Hebrew,  which  is  the  holy  tongue,  and  do  nothing 
but  according  to  the  commands  of  God,  given  us  by 
Moses,  the  son  of  Amram,  our  prophet,  upon  whom 
be  peace  for  ever  and  ever.  We  give  you  notice, 
you  that  are  our  brethren,  children  of  Israel,  that 
R.  Huntington,  an  uncircumcised  man,  is  arrived 
here  from  Europe,  and  has  acquainted  us  that  you 
are  a  great  people,  composed  of  men  pure  and  holy 
like  ourselves,  and  that  you  have  sent  him  to  desire 
of  us  a  copy  of  the  law ;  to  whom  we  would  not  give 
credit,  till  he  had  written  before  us  some  characters 
of  the  holy  language ;  in  order  to  assure  you  that  we 
have  the  same  Mosaic  religion  that  you  profess,  and 
if  we  had  not  been  willing  to  oblige  you,  we  should 


Ch.  IX.]  Samaritan  Epistle.  261 

not  have  sent  a  copy  of  the  law  by  the  hands  of  the 
uiicircumcised,  for  that  is  a  reproach  to  us.  Never- 
theless we  have  committed  it  to  him,  with  two  other 
little  books,  that  we  might  not  absolutely  deny  your 
request.  We  also  conjure  you  in  the  name  of  the 
living  God  not  to  deny  ours,  and  to  tell  us  what  reli- 
gion you  are  of?  Tell  us  what  is  the  language  you 
speak,  the  city  you  live  in,  the  king  that  governs  you, 
and  what  religion  he  professes  ?  Have  ye  any  priests 
of  the  race  of  Phineas  ?  Have  ye  only  one  priest  ? 
In  the  name  of  God  tell  us  the  truth,  without  any 
shadow  of  dissimulation  ;  and  send  us  a  copy  of  the 
law,  as  we  have  sent  you  ours.  Send  us  also  some 
learned  men,  some  prophets,  some  persons  of  repute, 
and  especially  some  descendant  of  Phiueas ;  for  know 
that  God  has  chosen  us  children  of  Israel  to  be  his 
people,  and  to  live  at  Gerizim,  according  to  what  he 
has  said,  Ye  shall  seek  their  habitation,  and  shall  go 
there.  He  has  said  also,  You  shall  keep  three  feasts 
every  year ;  the  males  shall  rejoice  three  times  a 
year  before  the  Lord.  Know  also,  that  all  the  pro- 
phets are  buried  in  the  territory  of  Sichem :  our 
father  Joseph,  Eleazar,  Ithamar,  Phineas,  Joshua, 
Caleb,  the  seventy  elders,  with  Eldad  and  Medad. 

If  you  are  willing  to  oblige  us,  acquaint  us  whe- 
ther you  are  devoted  to  Moses,  and  his  law,  to  Geri- 
zim and  the  house  of  God  ;  and  send  us  some  persons, 
without  being  concerned  about  the  length  of  the 
journey.  Do  not  intrust  a  Jew,  for  they  hate  us. 
If  you  send  us  any  deputy,  give  us  notice  of  it  by 
some  friend.  If  ye  have  the  book  of  Joshua,  and 
any  liturgy,  send  us  that  also. 

Tell  us  what  your  law  is.  As  for  us,  we  call  the 
law  what  begins  with  the  first  word  of  Genesis, 
(iVBRia)  aud  ends  with  the  last  of  Deuteronomy, 
(^x-it^).  Cause  all  this  to  be  copied  for  us  in  the 
holy  tongue,  and  tell  us  by  what  name  you  go?  We 
adjure  you  by  the  name  of  the  living  God,  not  to 
suffer  a  year  to  run  over  your  heads  without  giving 
us  an  answer.  In  the  meantime,  we  bless  God,  the 


262  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  IV. 

Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  we  implore  his  mercy 
and  his  justice,  to  instruct  you  in  all  that  can  please 
him,  and  to  guide  you  in  the  good  way,  amen.  May 
he  preserve  you  and  deliver  you  from  the  hands  of 
your  enemies,  and  gather  you  together  from  your 
dispersions  into  the  land  of  your  fathers,  through 
the  merits  of  Moses.  We  add,  that  tlus  is  our  faith  : 
we  believe  in  God,  in  Moses  his  servant,  in  the  holy 
law,  in  mount  Gerizim,  the  house  of  God,  and  in 
the  day  of  vengeance  and  peace.  Blessed  for  ever 
be  our  God,  and  let  his  peace  rest  upon  Moses,  the 
son  of  Amram,  the  righteous,  perfect,  pure  and  faith- 
ful prophet.  We  have  written  this  letter  at  Sichem, 
near  Gerizim,  the  15th  day  of  the  sixth  month,  which 
is  the  27th  day  of  the  lunar  month,  in  the  6111th 
year  of  the  creation  of  the  world,  according  to  the 
Greeks  ;  the  second  from  the  year  of  rest.  This 
year  the  seventh  month  will  begin  the  fourth  of  Elul, 
according  to  the  Greeks  ;  and  the  next  year  is  the 
341 1th  from  the  entrance  into  the  land  of  Canaan. 
God  be  blessed. 

May  this  letter  by  the  help  of  God  arrive  into  the 
city  England,  to  the  synagogue  of  the  Samaritan 
children  of  Israel,  whom  God  preserve.  It  is  writ- 
ten by  the  synagogue  of  Israel,  dwelling  at  Sichem. 
Mechab,  the  son  of  Jacob,  a  descendant  of  Ephraim, 
the  son  of  Joseph,  was  the  secretary." 

The  Samaritan  Pentateuch  which  it  appears  from 
the  above  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Huntington  (then  chap- 
lain to  the  Turkey  company  at  Aleppo,  and  after- 
wards bishop  of  Rapho  in  Ireland)  had  requested 
from  them  in  the  name  of  the  Samaritans  dwelling 
in  England,  is  Cod.  65,  in  Kennicott's  collection. 
Mr.  H.  had  made  it  a  present  to  Abp.  Marsh.  It 
seems  it  had  been  highly  prized  by  its  Samaritan 
possessor,  for,  says  Mr.  Huntingtoli,  in  an  epistle  to 
Ludolf,  He  had  it  in  his  bosom,  suspended  from  his 
neck.  Kennicott  supposes  it  to  have  been  written 
about  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century.  The 
33d  and  34th  chapters  of  Deuteronomy  are  supplied 


Ch.  X.]  Present  State  of  the  Jews.  263 

in  this  manuscript  by  J\[arcab  ben  Yacoub,  the  writer 
of  the  above  epistle.  The  manuscript  is  in  the  12mo 
form. 

In  the  year  1790,  I  met  with  "  an  Epistle  from 
the  Samaritans  at  Sichem  to  the  Samaritans  of  Eng- 
land," in  Marsh's  Library,  St.  Patrick's,  Dublin, 
neatly  written  in  a  very  legible  Samaritan  character 
upon  paper  ;  it  is  probably  the  same  with  that  men- 
tioned  above  :  I  began  to  transcribe  it  as  a  curiosity, 
but  could  not  find  opportunity  to  finish  it.  It  is 
directed  in  the  following  manner  : 

^j^jjx  Yj73  crjJiyn  a-iosyn  'jmar  -33  mx1? 
Laedeth  benee  yisrad  hashemereem  hashokeneem  baab~ 
angeland :  "  To  the  congregation  of  the  children  of 
Israel,  the  Samaritans  dwelling  in  the  city  England." 
I  mention  this  circumstance  here,  that  any  of  the 
literati  who  are  curious  in  oriental  matters  may  know 
the  residence  of  such  a  curiosity,  and  consult  it  when 
opportunity  may  offer.  If  my  recollection  be  cor- 
rect, a  part  of  the  epistle  is  accompanied  with  a 
Latin  translation. 

For  further  information  relative  to  this  people,  I 
must  refer  the  reader  to  Prideaux's  Connexions,  as 
quoted  above,  to  Ludolf's  and  Huntingtori's  Letters, 
and  to  Basnage's  History  of  the  Jews.  Whether  any 
remains  of  this  very  ancient  sect  of  mongrel  Jews  be 
now  in  existence  at  Sichem  or  elsewhere,  I  have  not 
been  able  to  learn. 


CHAPTER  X. 

State  of  the  modern  Jews. — Their  Liturgy. 
THERE  is  some  reason  to  fear  that  many  Jews  in  the 
present  day  have  drank  deeply  into  the  infidel  spirit 
of  the  times,  and  no  longer  receive  the  writings  of 
the  Old  Testament  as  divinely  inspired.  A  Jewish 
rabbi,  a  man  of  extensive  information,  and  consider- 
able learning,  lately  observed  to  me,  that  "  as  Moses 
had  to  do  with  a  grossly  ignorant,  stupid  and  head- 


264  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  IV. 

strong  people,  he  was  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  a 
pious  fraud,  and  pretend  that  the  laws  he  gave  them 
were  sent  to  him  by  the  Creator  of  all  things :  and 
that  all  the  ancient  legislators  and  formers  of  new 
states,  who  had  a  barbarous  people  to  govern,  were 
obliged  to  act  in  the  same  way,  such  as  Menu,  Numa, 
Lycurgus,  Mohammed,  &e.  ;  and  that  the  time  was 
very  near  at  hand,  when  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
civilized  world  would  be  of  one  religion,  viz.  DEISM, 
which  he  said  was  a  system  of  truth,  compounded 
from  Judaism,  Mohammedanism,  Christianity,  and 
the  writings  of  the  ancient  heathen  philosophers  !" 
When  I  expressed  my  suprise  at  hearing  a  Jew  talk 
thus,  and  asked  him  if  any  of  his  brethren  were  ol 
the  same  mind,  he  answered  with  considerable  emo- 
tion, "Yes,  every  intelligent  Jew  in  Europe  who  re- 
flects on  the  subject,  is  of  the  same  mind."  If  this 
rabbi's  testimony  be  true,  the  children  of  Jacob  are 
deplorably  fallen  indeed !  And  from  the  manner  in 
which  they  conduct  what  they  call  the  worship  of  God, 
who  would  suppose  they  either  credit  his  word,  or 
believe  in  his  existence  ?  It  cannot  be  called  even  a 
solemn  mockery ;  the  irreligion  of  it  is  too  barefaced 
to  have  any  pretensions  to  solemnity,  or  indeed  even 
to  decorum.* 

Having  brought  the  work  thus  far,  I  think  it  pro- 
per to  conclude  the  whole  with  some  account  of  the 
Jewish  liturgy. 

In  former  times  their  synagogue  service  was  com- 
posed of  prayers,  reading  the  Scriptures  and  expound- 
ing them.  At  present  the  latter  is  not  generally 
regarded.  At  first  their  prayers  were  very  short  and 

*  A  friend  of  mine  went  into  the  synagogue  in  Duke's  place,  Hounds- 
ditch,  London,  to  observe  the  method  in  which  they  conducted  their 
worship :  happening  to  come  near  a  Jew  who  was  deeply  engaged 
in  loudly  chanting  his  part  of  the  sacred  office,  he  unfortunately  trod 
on  his  toes  ;  he  instantly  suspended  his  reading,  and  with  a  counte- 
nance as  fierce  as  a  tiger,  cried  " —  your  eyes,  can't  you  see?"  and 
then  recollecting  his  piety  anew,  he  immediately  resumed  his  sacred 
employment,  and  with  the  same  devotion  as  before,  continued  to  ac- 
company his  brethren,  having  lost  but  about  two  seconds  in  pronoun- 
cing his  execration. 


Ch.  X.]  Their  Liturgy.  265 

simple.  Our  Lord's  prayer  is  a  model  of  this  kind, 
and  seems  to  have  been  taken  from  some  of  the  Jew- 
ish  forms  extant  in  his  time  :  at  least,  every  petition 
of  it  is  found  in  the  ancient  Jewish  writings :  but 
even  then  there  were  some  hypocritical  Pharisees 
who  made  long  prayers,  and  these  our  Lord  most  cut- 
tingly reprehends.  The  liturgy  of  the  modern  Jews 
is  greatly  increased  in  size,  which  makes  their  syna- 
gogue service  long  and  tedious,  and  the  rubric  by 
which  they  regulate  it,  is  very  intricate,  perplexed, 
and  encumbered  with  many  rites  and  ceremonious 
observances ;  in  all  of  which,  says  Dr.  Prideaux,  they 
equal  if  not  exceed  both  the  superstition  and  length 
of  the  popish  service.* 

The  most  solemn  part  of  their  prayers  are  those 
which  they  call  mwy  mint?  Shemoneh  Esreh.  i.  e.  The 
eighteen  prayers.^  These,  they  say,  were  composed 
by  Ezra  and  the  great  synagogue :  and  to  them  Rob. 
Gamaliel,  a  little  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
added  the  nineteenth  against  the  Christians,  who  are 
intended  under  the  names  of  apostates  and  heretics. 
These  prayers  are  allowed  to  be  very  ancient,  for 
mention  is  made  of  them  in  the  Mishnah  (Berachoth, 
c.  iv,  s.  3,)  as  old  settled  forms ;  and  they  were 
doubtless  (at  least  the  major  part  of  them)  used  in 
our  Saviour's  time4  That  which  was  formerly  the 
nineteenth  prayer  is  now  the  twelfth  in  the  order  in 
which  they  stand  in  the  Jewish  liturgies.  The  first 
part,  or  rather  the  precatory  part  of  each  article,  was 
pronounced  by  the  priest :  the  last  or  eucharistical 
part  was  the  response  of  the  people. 

"  1.  Blessed  be  thou,  oh  Lord  our  God,  the  God  of 
our  fathers,  the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac, 
the  God  of  Jacob,  the  great  God,  powerful  and  tre- 
mendous, the  high  God,  bountifully  dispensing  bene- 

*  Maimonides  in  Tephillah.  and  Prideaux's  Con.  vol.  2.  p.  538. 

t  The  10,  11,  14,  and  17,  seem  to  refer  to  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem, and  consequently  to  have  been  composed  after  that  period. 
Yet  it  is  probable  that  these  may  refer  to  the  calamities  of  more  an 
cient  times. 

t  See  Prideaux. 

23 


266  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  IV. 

fits,  the  Creator  and  possessor  of  the  universe,  who 
rememberest  the  good  deeds  of  our  fathers,  and  in 
thy  love  sendest  a  Redeemer  to  those  who  are  de- 
scended from  them,  for  thy  name's  sake,  oh  King, 
our  Lord  and  helper,  our  Saviour  and  our  shield. — 
Blessed  art  thou,  oh  Lord,  who  art  the  shield  of 
Abraham. 

"2.  Thou,  oh  Lord,  art  powerful  for  ever,  thou 
raisest  the  dead  to  life,  and  art  mighty  to  save  ;  thou 
sendest  down  the  dew,  stillest  the  winds,  and  makest 
the  rain  to  come  down  upon  the  earth,  and  sustainest 
with  thy  beneficence  all  that  are  therein  ;  and  of  thy 
abundant  mercy  makest  the  dead  again  to  live.  Thou 
raisest  up  those  who  fall;  thou  healest  the  sick; 
thou  loosest  them  who  are  bound,  and  makest  good 
thy  word  of  truth  to  those  who  sleep  in  the  dust. 
Who  is  to  be  compared  to  thee,  oh  thou  Lord  of 
might !  and  who  is  like  unto  thee,  oh  our  King,  who 
killest  and  makest  alive,  and  makest  salvation  to 
spring  as  the  grass  in  the  field !  Thou  art  faithful  to 
make  the  dead  to  rise  again  to  life. — Blessed  art 
thou,  oh  Lord,  who  raisest  the  dead  again  to  life  ! 

"  3.  Thou  art  holy,  and  thy  name  is  holy,  and  thy 
saints  do  praise  thee  every  day,  selah.  For  a  great 
King  and  a  holy  art  thou,  oh  God. — Blessed  art  thou, 
oh  Lord  God  most  holy  ! 

"  4.  Thou  of  thy  mercy  givest  knowledge  unto 
men,  and  teachest  them  understanding :  give  gra- 
ciously unto  us  knowledge,  wisdom,  and  understand- 
ing.— Blessed  art  thou,  oh  Lord,  who  graciously 
givest  knowledge  unto  men  ! 

"  5.  Bring  us  back,  oh  our  Father,  to  the  obser- 
vance of  thy  law,  and  make  us  to  adhere  to  thy  pre- 
cepts, and  do  thou,  oh  our  King,  draw  us  near  to  thy 
worship,  and  convert  us  to  thee  by  perfect  repent- 
ance in  thy  presence. — Blessed  art  thou,  oh  Lord, 
who  vouchsafest  to  receive  us  by  repentance  ! 

"6.  Be  thou  merciful  unto  us,  oh  our  Father,  for 
we  have  sinned  ;  pardon  us,  oh  our  King,  for  we 
hare  transgressed  against  thee.  For  thou  art  a  God, 


Ch.  X.]  Their  Liturgy.  267 

good  and  ready  to  pardon. — Blessed  art  thou,  oh  Lord 
most  gracious,  who  multipliest  thy  mercies  in  the  for- 
giveness of  sins ! 

"  7.  Look,  we  beseech  thee,  upon  our  afflictions. 
Be  thou  on  our  side  in  all  our  contentions,  and  plead 
thou  our  cause  in  all  our  litigations;  and  make  haste 
to  redeem  us  with  a  perfect  redemption  for  thy  name's 
sake.  For  thou  art  our  God,  our  King,  and  a  strong 
Redeemer. — Blessed  art  thou,  oh  Lord,  the  Redeemer 
of  Israel ! 

"  8.  Heal  us,  oh  Lord  our  God,  and  we  shall  be 
healed;  save  us,  and  we  shall  be  saved.  For  thou 
art  our  praise.  Bring  unto  us  sound  health,  and  a 
perfect  remedy  for  all  our  infirmities,  and  for  all  our 
griefs,  and  for  all  our  wounds.  For  thou  art  a  God 
who  healest,  and  art  merciful. — Blessed  art  thou,  oh 
Lord  our  God,  who  curest  the  diseases  of  thy  people 
Israel ! 

"  9.  Bless  us,  oh  Lord  our  God,  in  every  work  of 
our  hands,  and  bless  unto  us  the  seasons  of  the  year, 
and  give  us  the  dew  and  the  rain  to  be  a  blessing 
unto  us,  upon  the  face  of  all  our  land,  and  satiate  the 
world  with  thy  blessings,  and  send  down  moisture 
upon  every  part  of  the  earth  that  is  habitable. — 
Blessed  art  thou,  oh  Lord,  who  givest  thy  blessing  to 
the  years! 

"  10.  Gather  us  together  by  the  sound  of  the  great 
trumpet,  to  the  enjoyment  of  our  liberty,  and  lift  up 
thy  ensign  to  call  together  all  the  captivity,  from  the 
four  quarters  of  the  earth  into  our  own  land. — 
Blessed  art  thou,  oh  Lord,  who  gatherest  together 
the  exiles  of  the  people  of  Israel. 

"11.  Restore  unto  us  our  judges  as  at  the  first, 
and  our  counsellors  as  at  the  beginning  ;  and  remove 
far  from  us  affliction  and  trouble,  and  do  thou  only 
reign  over  us  in  benignity,  and  in  mercy,  and  in 
righteousness,  and  in  justice. — Blessed  art  thouj  oh 
Lord  our  King,  who  lovest  righteousness  and  jus- 
tice ! 


263  Manners  of  the  Israelites.         [Part  IV- 

"12.  *  Let  there  be  no  hope  to  them  who  apos- 
tatize from  the  true  religion ;  and  let  heretics,  how- 
many  soever  they  be,  all  perish  as  in  a  moment.  And 
letf  the  kingdom  of  pride  be  speedily  rooted  out, 
and  broken  in  our  days. — Blessed  art  thou,  oh  Lord 
our  God,  who  destroyest  the  wicked,  and  bringest 
down  the  proud  ! 

"13.  Upon  the  pious  and  the  just,  and  uponj 
the  proselytes  of  justice,  and  upon  the  remnant  of 
thy  people  of  the  house  of  Israel,  let  thy  mercies  be 
moved,  oh  Lord  our  God,  and  give  a  good  reward 
unto  all  who  faithfully  put  their  trust  in  thy  name, 
and  grant  us  our  portion  with  them,  and  for  ever  let 
us  not  be  ashamed,  for  we  put  our  trust  in  thee. — 
Blessed  art  thou,  oh  Lord,  who  art  the  support  and 
confidence  of  the  just ! 

"  14.  Dwell  thou  in  the  midst  of  Jerusalem  thy 
city,  as  thou  hast  promised ;  build  it  with  a  building 
to  last  for  ever,  and  do  this  speedily  even  in  our  days. 
Blessed  art  thou,  oh  Lord,  who  buildest  Jerusalem  ! 

"15.  Make  the  offspring  of  David  thy  servant 
speedily  to  grow  up,  and  flourish,  and  let  our  horn  be 
exalted  in  thy  salvation.  For  we  hope  for  thy  salva- 
tion every  day. — Blessed  art  thou,  oh  Lord,  who 
makest  the  horn  of  our  salvation  to  flourish  ! 

"  16.  Hear  our  voice,  oh  Lord  our  God ;  most 
merciful  Father,  pardon  and  have  mercy  upon  us, 
and  accept  of  our  prayers  with  thy  mercy  and  favour, 
and  send  us  not  away  from  thy  presence,  oh  our 
King.  For  thou  hearest  with  mercy  the  prayer  of 
thy  people  Israel. — Blessed  art  thou,  oh  Lord,  who 
hearest  prayer ! 

*  This  is  the  prayer  which  was  added  by  rabbi  Gamaliel  against  the 
Christians,  or  as  others  say  by  rabbi  Samuel  the  little,  who  was  one  of 
his  scholars. 

f  The  Roman  empire. 

j  The  proselytes  of  justice  were  such  as  received  the  whole  Jewish 
law,  and  conformed  in  all  things  to  their  religion.  Other  proselytes 
there  were  who  conformed  only  to  the  seven  precepts  of  the  sons  of 
Noah,  and  these  were  called  proselytes  of  the  gate,  because  they  wor- 
shipped only  in  the  outer  court  of  the  temple,  and  were  admitted  no 
farther  than  the  gate  leading  into  the  inner  courts.  Of  all  these  we 
have  already  spoken,  p.  74, 191. 


Ch.  X.]  Their  Liturgy.  269 

«  17.  Be  thou  well  pleased,  oh  Lord  our  God,  with 
thy  people  Israel,  and  have  regard  unto  their  prayers ; 
restore  thy  worship  to*  the  inner  part  of  thy  house, 
and  make  haste  with  favour  and  love  to  accept  of  the 
burnt  sacrifices  of  Israel,  and  their  prayers  ;  and  let 
the  worship  of  Israel  thy  people  be  continually  well- 
pleasing  unto  thee. — Blessed  art  thou,  oh  Lord,  who 
restores!  thy  divine  presence  to  Zion  ! 

"  18.  We  will  give  thanks  unto  thee  with  praise. 
For  thou  art  the  Lord  our  God,  the  God  of  our  fathers 
for  ever  and  ever.  Thou  art  our  rock,  and  the  rock 
of  our  life,  and  the  shield  of  our  salvation.  To  all 
generations  will  we  give  thanks  unto  thee,  and  declare 
thy  praise,  because  of  our  life  which  is  always  in  thy 
hands,  and  because  of  thy  signs,  which  are  every  day 
with  us,  and  because  of  thy  wonders,  and  marvellous 
lovingkindnesses,  which  are  morning,  and  evening, 
and  night,  before  us.  Thou  art  good,  for  thy  mer- 
cies are  not  consumed ;  thou  art  merciful,  for  thy 
lovingkindnesses  fail  not.  For  ever  we  hope  in  thee. 
And  for  all  these  mercies  be  thy  name,  oh  King, 
blessed,  and  exalted,  and  lifted  up  on  high  for  ever 
and  ever  ;  and  let  all  that  live  give  thanks  unto  thee. 
Selah.  And  let  them  in  truth  and  sincerity  praise 
thy  name,  oh  God  of  our  salvation,  and  our  help. 
Selah.  Blessed  art  thou,  oh  Lord,  whose  name  is 
good,  and  to  whom  it  is  fitting  alway  to  give  praise. 

"  19.  Give  peace,  beneficence,  benediction,  grace, 
benignity,  and  mercy  unto  us,  and  to  Israel  thy  people. 
Bless  us,  our  Father,  even  all  of  us  together  as  one 
man,  with  the  light  of  thy  countenance.  For  in  the 
light  of  thy  countenance  hast  thou  given  unto  us,  oh 
Lord  our  God,  the  law  of  life,  and  love,  and  benignity, 
and  righteousness,  and  blessing,  and  mercy,  and  life, 

*  ;'.  e.  The  adytum  templi,  which  in  the  temple  of  Jerusalem  was  the 
holy  of  holies,  into  which  none  ever  entered  but  the  highpriest  once  a 
year,  on  the  great  day  of  expiation.  From  this  place,  after  the  Baby- 
lonish captivity,  were  wanting  the  ark,  the  mercy  seat,  the  Shecinah 
of  the  divine  presence,  and  the  urim  and  thummira,  which  causing  an 
imperfection  in  their  worship  in  respect  of  what  it  was  formerly,  a, 
restoration  of  them  seems  to  be  what  is  prayed  for  in  this  place. 


270  Manners  of  the  Israelites.       [Part  I? . 

and  peace.  And  let  it  seem  good  in  thine  eyes  to 
bless  thy  people  Israel  with  thy  peace  at  all  times, 
and  in  every  moment.  Blessed  art  thou,  oh  Lord, 
who  blessest  thy  people  Israel  with  peace.  «#men." 

'  God  hath  given  them  the  spirit  of  slumber ;  eyes 
that  they  should  not  see,  and  ears  that  they  should 
not  hear  unto  this  day. 

«  Behold  the  goodness  and  severity  of  God ;  on  them 
who  fell  severity,  but  toward  thee  goodness,,  if  thou 
continue  in  his  goodness,  otherwise  thou  also  shalt 
be  cut  off. 

*  Blindness  in  part  is  happened  to  Israel,  until  the 
fulness  of  the  Gentiles  be  come  in.  And  so,  ALL 
ISRAEL  SHALL  BE  SAVED  :  for  there  shall  come  out 
of  Zion  the  DELIVERER,  and  shall  turn  away  ungod- 
liness from  Jacob:'  Paul,  Rom.  xi. 

Jlspice,  VENTURO  Icetentur  ut  omnia  SECLO  : 
O  mihi  tarn  longa  maneat  pars  ultima  vitce, 
Spiritus  et  quantum  sat  erit  tua  dicerefacta  ! 

TALIA  SECLA  CURRITE  !* 
*  VlRG,  Bucol,  iv. 


INDEX. 


A 

ABRAHAM,  a  sort  of  king,  24  ;  numerous  servants,  25 ;  waits  on 
his  guests,  28. 

Mam,  probably  the  first  who  offered  a  sacrifice,  216 ;  note. 

Administration  of  justice  among  the  Israelites,  149. 

Adoring,  what,  110. 

Age,  the  first  foundation  of  authority,  147. 

Agriculture,  see  Husbandry. 

Alienation  of  lands  revoked  every  fifty  years  among  the  Israelites,  51. 

Altars  erected  for  memorials  of  great  events,  23. 

Altaschith,  what,  103. 

Angel  of  the  church,  what  it  signifies,  240,  in  the  note. 

Anointing,  reason  of  it,  62. 

Animals  used  in  sacrifice,  219,  220  ;  manner  of  killing  such,  220  • 
flaying,  salting,  &c.,  220,  221 ;  offered  at  the  door  of  the  taberna- 
cle, 222. 

Animals,  different,  eaten  and  abstained  from  among  different  na- 
tions, 68. 

Apostles  among  the  Jews,  their  office,  180. 

Arms,  all  persons  capable  of  using  them,  ecclesiastics  as  well  as  lay- 
men, made  up  the  ancient  militia,  155 ;  what  the  ancient  arms  con 
sisted  of,  156  ;  not  worn  by  the  Israelites  except  on  duty,  156. 

Arts,  curious  ones  among  the  Hebrews,  53,  54. 

Artificers,  few  among  the  Israelites  till  the  time  of  David,  54,  53 : 
many  of  the  Greek  heroes  such,  55. 

Antre  of  land,  how  much,  46. 

Asmoneans,  see  Maccabees. 

Athenians,  how  at  first  divided,  31. 

Ayeleth  Shahar,  what,  102. 

B 

Babylon,  the  fertility  of  its  plains,  40. 

Bakers,  when  first  at  Rome,  55. 

Balsam-tree  only  found  anciently  in  Palestine,  44. 

Baptism  administered  to  proselytes,  193 ;  how  performed,  193  ;  Lo)v ' 

administered  to  women,  195. 
Bathing,  why  frequent  in  the  east,  62. 
Beards  long,  worn  by  the  Israelites,  62. 

Bedsteads  in  the  east  often  of  ivory,  and  placed  against  the  wall,  63. 
Bells  in  churches,  of  modern  invention,  125. 
Bissextile  how  computed,  213. 

Books  now  lost  referred  to  in  the  Old  Testament,  88,  89. 
Bramins  neither  kill  nor  eat  animals,  69. 
Bread,  how  much  per  day  a  man  eats,  46 ;  very  little  bread  kept  among 

the  Israelites,  55 :  the  word  used  in  Scripture  means  all  sorts  of 

victuals.  67. 


272  INDEX. 

Breastplate,  238,  239. 

Britons,  ancient,  their  dress,  19. 

Burial,  the  manner  of  it  among  the  Israelites,  116,  117;  no  religious 

ceremony  used  at  it,  117. 
Kyssus,  what  it  was,  60. 

C 

Cakes  of  libation,  221,  called  nakudeem,  67. 

Calends,  what,  213. 

Canaan,  the  Israelites  prohibited  from  marrying  with  his  descendants. 
32,  74 ;  Canaamtes  the  same  with  Phoenicians,  53 :  their  tribe? 
197,  198. 

Canopies,  the  use  of  them  in  the  east,  63. 

Captivity  of  'the  ten  tribes  above  a  hundred  years  before  that  of  the 
other  two,  164 ;  the  consequences  of  captivity  anciently,  and  of 
Israel  and  Judah  in  particular,  165  ;  the  restoration  of Judah  from 
it,  166;  much  reformed  by  it,  167,  168;  how  long  after  it  before 
they  could  rebuild  their  city  and  temple,  168. 

Castration  of  cattle  prohibited  to  the  Israelites,  51. 

Cato  the  censor,  writes  of  country  affairs,  38 ;  his  opinion  of  the 
pastoral  life,  26  ;  a  maxim  in  his  book  the  same  with  one  in  Prov. 
xxiv,  27,  42. 

Cavalry  of  little  use  in  mountainous  countries,  157  ;  forbidden  to  the 
Israelites,  though  much  used  in  Egypt,  157 ;  numerous,  however, 
in  Solomon's  time,  157. 

Ceremonies,  some  borrowed  from  the  Jewish  church,  193. 

Ccelosyria  described,  203. 

Chazan,  who,  240. 

Children  of  this  world — of  darkness — light,  &c.,  whence  the  expres- 
sions, 31 ;  increase  of  them  desired  by  the  Israelites,  81,  82  ;  how 
numerous  in  some  families,  82,  83. 

Chimneys  among  the  ancients  little  known,  65. 

CMamys  of  the  Greeks,  what,  58,  60. 

Christians  eat  too  often,  70. 

Church,  whence  the  word,  149. 

Cicero,  what  he  means  by  Jewish  gold,  180. 

Circumcision,  practised  by  many  nations  besides  Jews,  74 ;  performed 
in  private  houses  without  the  ministry  of  priests,  81 ;  the  seal  of 
the  covenant,  192. 

Cities  in  Judea,  the  habitation  of  labourers,  and  very  numerous,  150  ; 
their  gates  the  seats  of  justice,  150 ;  at  first  built  by  wicked  men,  26, 

Cloaks  a  sort  of  military  dress.  60. 

Clothes  of  the  ancients  injudiciously  represented  by  most  painters,  58, 
59 ;  fashions  of  them  little  changed  in  the  east,  59 ;  ill  conse- 
quences of  their  change,  60  ;  of  white  colour  most  in  use  among 
the  Israelites,  Greeks,  and  Romans,  61  ;  made  generally  among 
them  all  very  plain,  61 ;  of  the  women  more  sumptuous,  62,  63. 

Concubines,  though  generally  slaves,  yet  to  keep  them  not  reckoned 
disreputable,  84  ;  ill  consequences  from  the  use  of  them,  84,  85. 

Confession  of  faith,  244,  245. 

Corban,  what,  226. 

Council  of  seventy-two  and  the  highpriest  at  Jerusalem,  and  of  twenty- 
three  in  the  smaller  cities,  their  power,  149 ;  kept  their  court  at  the 
gate  of  the  city,  150 ;  continued  while  the  Jews  were  subject  to  t&e 
Persians,  169 ;  and  to  the  Romans,  180. 


INDEX.  273 

Country  people,  the  cause  of  their  misery,  36. 

Courts  of  judicature  among  the  Romans  at  the  forum,  of  the  Israelites 
at  the  city  gates,  in  feudal  times  at  the  courts  of  lords'  castles,  150 
Craftsmen,  valley  of,  57. 
Crusades  laid  waste  the  Holy  Land,  43. 
Cubit,  two  sorts  mentioned  in  Scripture,  120. 
Cynara,  what,  93. 

D 

Day,  how  divided  by  the  Hebrews,  Greeks,  and  Romans,  206, 

David,  his  riches,  160. 

Dancing  in  use  among  the  Israelites,  93,  94. 

Daughters  of  the  patriarchs  bred  to  hard  labour,  26. 

Death  of  the  patriarchs,  how  described  in  Scripture,  28. 

Decapolis,  described,  202. 

Deism  of  a  Jewish  rabbi,  263. 

Diet  of  the  ancient  Israelites,  66,  67. 

Divorce,  ill  consequences  of  it,  85 ;  when  first  heard  of  at  Rome,  85. 

Dress  of  the  Hebrews,  58  ;  of  the  English,  19. 

E 

Eastern  fashions  change  little,  60 ;  their  compliments  more  like  our» 

than  those  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  are,  110  ;  play  at  no  games 

of  hazard,  113. 
Edam,  what  it  signifies,  200. 
Egypt,  physic  supposed  to  have  been  invented  there,  29 ;  what  food 

the  Egyptians  abstained  from,  68;  Solon,  Pythagoras,  and  Plato, 

studied  there,  169;  becoming  an  addition  to  the  Roman  power 

hastened  the  mm  uf  the  Jc^un,  irr. 
Elders  of  Israel,  the  Jewish  sanhedrim,  147, 180  ;  the  seat  of  the  elders, 

what  meant  by  it,  148 ;  number  of,  148. 
Elijah,  meaning  of  the  name,  32. 

Embalming  practised  by  the  Israelites  as  well  as  Egyptians,  116. 
Eponymi,  what,  31. 
Ephod  described,  238,  239. 
Equinox,  what,  212,  214. 
Essenes,  their  manner  of  life,  183. 
Ethnarchs,  what  meant  by  them,  186. 
Eumeus  described  by  Homer  making  his  own  shoes,  55. 
Eunuchs,  servants  about  the  king's  person,  without  denoting  personal 

imperfection,  154. 
Evenings,  two,  what,  205. 

F 

Fashions,  see  Clothes. 

Fathers  among  the  Israelites  had  power  of  life  and  death  over  their 

children,  145  ;  but  under  the  direction  of  the  magistrate,  146 ;  the 

same  law  practised  at  Athens,  146. 
Fasts  proclaimed  by  sound  of  trumpet,  as  well  as  feasts,  126  ;  how 

many  stated  ones,  127  ;  Mohammedan,  130. 
Feasts,  religious,  the  number  of  them  among  the  Israelites,  125,  140  ; 

were  times  of  general  joy,  125,  126. 
Feet,  custom  of  washing  them  at  visits,  62 ;  to  wattr  and  to  (over  the 

feet,  what  meant  by  it,  111. 


274  INDEX. 

Fireplaces,  65. 

Firstfruits,  227. 

Fish,  scarce  eaten  in  the  most  ancient  times  either  by  Israelites  or 

Grecians,  68. 

Fleury,  Abbe",  his  life,  9—15. 
Forces,  see  Militia. 

Fruits  brought  into  Europe  from  Asia  and  Africa  hare  degenerated.  44 
Fniitfulness  of  the  promised  land,  42,  43,  44. 
Funerals  among  the  Hebrews,  116,  117. 

G 

Gadara  described,  202. 

Galttees,  two  of  them,  200. 

Galileans  were  the  first  who  received  the  gospel,  201. 

Galileo  imprisoned  for  asserting  the  true  system  of  the  world,  140. 

Note. 
Games  of  hazard  unknown  to  the  Israelites,  and  forbidden  by  the 

Arabians  to  this  day,  113. 

Gate  of  the  city,  courts  of  judicature  held  there,  150. 
Genealogies  of  Matthew  and  Luke,  how  reconciled,  83. 
Genestrreth,  lake  of,  203. 
Germans  introduced  on  this  side  of  the  Rhine  the  love  of  hunting,  38  : 

and  will  always  retain  it,  181. 
Gittith,  what,  101. 
Globe  explained,  212. 
Government  of  the  Israelites,  what  the  form  of  it,  142,  &c. ;  of  the 

patriarchs,  lasted  nine  hundred  years,  31. 
Gout,  king  Asa  blamed  for  trusting  in  physicians  to  cure  it,  73- 
Greek  proper  names  explained,  33. 
Greeks,  ancient,  employed  in  breeding  cattle,  27 ;  seem  to  have  been 

great  eaters,  27 ;  retained  a  great  opinion  of  husbandry  in  the 

height  of  their  politeness,  37  ;  joined  manufactures  and  trade  to  it. 

53,  54 ;  their  wisdom  and  religion,  135,  136 ;  their  worship,  137, 

138  ;  improved  in  sciences  not  till  the  time  of  Alexander,  139. 
Greek  tongue  learnt  by  the  Jews,  especially  of  Alexandria,  187. 
Greek  and  Gentile,  whence  the  same,  172. 
Gregorian  Style,  213. 

H 

Habits  of  the  priests,  236  ;  ditto  of  the  highpriest,  237,  239. 

Hacamim,  or  chocamim,  who,  239. 

Handmaids,  who  they  were,  29. 

Hazanim,  who,  180. 

Hebrew,  the  genius  of  the  language,  87,  88;  lost  by  the  Jews  in  their 

captivity,  165. 
Hebrews  by  birth,  190. 
Hecatceus,   a  fragment  of  his  concerning  the  extent   of  Palestine 

explained,  46,  47. 

Heiresses,  obliged  to  marry  within  their  own  tribe  and  family,  75. 
Hellenists,  who  meant  by  them  in  Scripture,  172. 
Herod's  reign,  the  last  period  in  which  the  Jews  were  considerable. 

178 ;  his  tetrarchy,  204. 

Hesiod  wrote  a  poem  upon  husbandry,  37 ;  his  manner  of  writing,  98, 
Higgaion,  what,  102. 


INDEX.  275 

Highpriest,  sec  Priest. 

Hindoos,  their  purifications,  75. 

Historians,  the  priests  only  such  anciently,  96 ;  excellence  of  the 
Jewish,  97. 

Holocaust,  what,  223. 

Holy  Land,  names  and  divisions  of,  196  ;  why  called  Palestine,  196. 

Homer  referred  to,  26,  31,  37 ;  shows  his  heroes  were  great  eaters,  27. 

Horse,  see  Cavalry. 

Houses,  and  household  furniture,  in  the  east,  what,  63. 

Hunting  in  more  credit  among  the  moderns  than  the  ancients  ;  a  bar- 
barous employment,  39  ;  not  followed  much  by  the  Israelites,  113. 

Husbandry,  the  employment  of  the  patriarchs,  26  ;  and  of  the  Israel- 
ites afterwards,  35 — 42 ;  and  of  other  ancient  nations,  42 ;  brought 
into  disesteem  by  the  tyranny  of  the  northern  nations,  40 ;  more 
useful  than  what  is  called  learning,  95  ;  parables  in  the  gospel  bor- 
rowed from  that  employ,  181. 

I 

Idolatry,  the  rise  of  it,  134 ;  the  Israelites  tempted  to  it  by  their  neigh- 
bours, 140.  Idols,  whence  called  vanity  and  abomination,  174. 

Idumea  described,  200. 

Inspiration,  how  far  it  attended  the  sacred  writers,  and  in  what  sense 
to  be  understood,  98. 

Instruments  of  Music  among  the  Hebrews,  account  of,  99 ;  Hebrew 
and  Chaldee  names  of  these,  103. 

Israelites,  whence  their  name,  31 ;  their  country,  see  Palestine ; 
divided  into  twelve  tribes,  31  ;  were  really  brethren,  32  ;  did  not 
intermarry  with  other  nations,  32 ;  titles  among  them,  what,  32  ; 
employments,  35,  &c.  ;  hindered  from  alienating  their  property,  51  ; 
paid  no  rents  but  the  tenths  and  firstfruits,  51  ;  prohibited  from 
castrating  their  cattle,  51  ;  used  asses  instead  of  horses,  51 ;  had 
but  few  slaves,  and  little  money,  52  ;  not  much  addicted  to  trade, 
52  ;  wanted  artificers  for  arms  and  even  instruments  of  husbandry, 
54 ;  no  bakers  among  them,  55 ;  wore  their  beards  long,  82  ;  used 
originally  to  eat  sitting,  66  ;  afterwards  lying,  67 ;  had  at  first  no 
physicians,  72  ;  how  far  avoided  strangers,  73,  74 ;  did  not  study 
languages,  87  ;  writing  not  common  among  them,  88 ;  had  no 
public  schools,  96  ;  their  government  founded  on  aristocracy,  142  ; 
fall  into  idolatry,  and  apply  to  strangers  for  succours,  both  which 
brought  on  their  ruin,  163.  See  Jews. 

Italy,  varied  at  different  periods,  20. 

J 

Jasher,  book  of,  89. 

Jews,  a  name  applied  to  the  kingdom  of  Judah  not  till  after  the  captir 
vity  of  the  ten  tribes,  164  ;  less  corruption  in  that  kingdom  than  in 
that  of  Israel,  163  ;  what  numbers  returned  from  their  captivity, 
166  ;  how  long  before  they  rebuilt  their  city  and  temple,  168 ;  when 
they  recovered  themselves,  169;  enjoyed  their  own  laws,  169; 
communicated  their  doctrines  to  the  Grecians,  169;  privileges 
granted  them  by  several  kings,  171 ;  when  they  learned  the  Greek 
tongue,  171 ;  some  of  them  writers  in  it,  171 ;  dispersed  in  Asia 
and  Europe,  172 ;  whence  falsely  reckoned  an  ignorant  people,  173 ; 
under  what  kings  persecuted,  175 ;  take  up  arms  against  the  Syrian 


276  INDEX. 

kings,  176 ;  become  considerable  under  the  Maccabees  for  fourscore 
years,  177,  178 ;  harassed  by  different  nations,  and  at  last  subject 
to  the  Romans,  178 ;  became  taxgatherers,  &c.,  contrary  to  their 
original  institution,  181 ;  many  of  them  physicians,  182 ;  would 
not  pronounce  the  names  of  false  gods,  89 ;  think  themselves  obliged 
to  kill  the  Gentiles  whenever  they  can,  192,  246. 

Jewish  prohibitions,  utility  of,  18 ;  confession  of  faith,  244,  246  ; 
liturgy,  265. 

Joel,  meaning  of  the  name,  32. 

Jonath  Elem  Rechokim,  102. 

Jordan,  whence  its  name,  196. 

Joseph,  remarks  on  his  age,  30. 

Jubilee,  the  word  does  not  signify  a  ram's  horn,  124. 

Judaism  could  not  be  embraced  by  eunuchs,  191. 

Judges  governed  those  tribes  only  who  chose  them,  158;  judges  in 
courts  of  judicature,  149. 

Justice,  administration  of,  149. 

K 

King,  desired  by  the  Israelites  as  preferable  to  their  condition  under 
judges,  158;  his  standing  forces,  159;  had  absolute  power  of  life 
and  death,  and  of  levying  tribute,  159 ;  in  what  respect  limited,  159  ; 
his  splendour  and  riches,  160. 

Kingdoms,  at  first  small,  24. 

Kinoor,  what,  105. 

Kithres,  what,  104. 

L 

Lantech  the  first  polygamist,  84. 

Lamps,  anciently  used  instead  of  candles,  64  ;  description  of  a  curious 

one,  64. 

Languages,  not  studied  by  the  Hebrews  or  ancient  Greeks,  87. 
Law,  always  read  in  Hebrew,  240. 
Leprosy,  which  sort  meant  in  Scripture,  72. 
Lem,  whole  tribe  of,  dedicated  to  God,  34. 
Levites,  sophetim  or  judges ;  and  inferior  officers  of  justice,  called 

soterim,  chosen  out  of  them,  149. 
Levites,  estates,  functions,  and  number,  229,  232. 
Lemtical  cities,  198. 
Liturgy,  Jewish,  265. 
Lordships,  not  above  seven  hundred  years  old,  34. 

M 

Maccabees  revived  the  Jewish  state,  177. 

Mahaloth,  what,  102. 

Mahometans  scrupulously  nice  about  some  indecencies,  111 ;  forbidden 
games  of  hazard,  113. 

Maimonides  describes  a  proselyte,  191 ;  shows  what  was  required  in 
such,  191,  195 ;  describes  the  magnificence  of  the  temple,  232  ; 
opinion  concerning  original  sin,  245,  246. 

Manners  of  nations  alter  by  time  and  place,  19. 

Marriage  with  strangers  allowed  to  the  Jews,  except  of  heiresses,"  75  ; 
marriage  feasts,  how  long  they  lasted,  80 ;  transacted  between  the 
relations  and  friends,  without  priests  or  sacrifices,  81  ;  promoted 
among  the  ancients,  81 ;  necessary  for  the  Jewish  priests,  123. 


INDEX. 

Martyrs,  who  the  first,  176. 

Maschil,  what,  103. 

Meats  clean  and  unclean  among,  other  nations  as  well  as  the  Jews,  68 : 

physical  and  moral  reasons  for  such  distinction,  69. 
Mehil,  what,  237. 
Messiah,  types  of  his  reign  described  in  terms  by  which  the  prophet!" 

foretel  the  happiness  of  the  Jews,  169. 
Michtam,  what,  102. 

JMttb,  all  persons  of  such  an  age  made  part  of  it  in  Judea  and  at 
Rome,  155 ;  of  what  number  it  consisted  under  different  kings  of 
Israel,  156,  159. 
Mincha,  what,  221. 
Ministers  of  the  temple,  229. 
Mtres,  62. 

Mohammedan*,  their  purifications,  78;   their  fasts,  130. 
Mohd,  who,  SI. 

Money,  little  among  the  Israelites,  25,  52. 
Moon  regulated  the  Jewish  months,  208 ;  new,  209. 
Month,  periodical,  210 ;  synodical,  210.     Months,  their  names,  211. 
Month  among  the  Israelites  computed  from  the  moon's  appearance, 

209  ;  reason  of  this,  209. 
Mountains  of  Judea,  197. 

Mourning  among  the  Israelites  for  misfortunes,  as  well  as  the  death 
of  relations,  114 ;  the  manner  of  it  among  them  and  other  nations, 
115. 

Music  among  the  Hebrews  and  other  nations  exquisite,  92 ;  more 
affecting  than  ours,  93  ;  in  what  sense  promoted  prophesying,  92. 
Musicians,  four  thousand  under  David,  93.    Instruments  of,  99. 
Muthlabben,  what,  102. 
Mysteries,  heathen,  full  of  debaucheries,  136,137. 

N 

.Vabla,  what,  93 ;  particularly  described,  104. 

Naboth,  whence  his  resolution  not  to  sell  the  inheritance  of  his 
fathers,  51. 

Names  of  the  patriarchs,  historical,  23 ;  of  the  Israelites,  religious,  32  , 
of  false  gods  not  mentioned  by  them,  89 ;  sometimes  the  father's, 
sometimes  the  mother's  name,  continued  to  the  children,  33  ;  some- 
times a  surname  added,  34 ;  how  distinguished  among  the  Greek  < 
and  Romans,  34. 

Names  of  the  Holy  Land,  196. 

Nations,  how  some  vary  in  their  manners  and  customs,  how  others 
agree,  20. 

Nazarites,  vow,  in  what  it  consisted,  128 ;  what  they  were,  229,  241. 

Neginrih  and  Nehiloth,  what,  101. 

Noah,  precepts  of,  191. 

Nuchthemeron,  what,  205. 

Nurses,  three  only  mentioned  in  Scripture,  84. 

O 

Oblations,  different  kinds,  227,  228. 
Ode,  see  Poetry. 

Odoriferous  plants  laid  up  with  wearing  apparel,  25. 
24 


278  INDEX. 

Offerings,  numerous  in  the  Jewish  temple,  127 ;  different  kinds,  226, 

223* 
Officers,  but  four  sorts  in  Joshua's  time,  153;  more  in  David's,  154 ; 

their  Hebrew  names  explained,  153,  154. 

Officers  of  the  temple,  232 ;  of  war,  232 ;  of  the  synagogue,  239. 
Oil  used  anciently  instead  of  candles,  64 ;  their  paste  kneaded  with 

it,  63. 

Old  Men,  their  authority,  147. 
Olympiads,  what,  208. 
Original  Sin,  Jewish  opinion  of,  245,  246. 

P 

Painters  injudiciously  represent  the  habits  of  the  ancients,  58  ;  and  a 

priest  present  at  the  ceremony  of  circumcision,  81 ;  by  guess  only 

making  David  playing  on  a  harp,  93. 
Palestine,  whence  its  name,  196  ;  the  advantages  of  its  situation,  42 ; 

whence  its  present  desolation,  43 ;  its  fertility  formerly,  43 ;  the 

number  of  its  inhabitants,  44 ;  its  contents  of  acres,  and  how  many 

men  it  was  able  to  maintain,  46  ;  its  contents  in  degrees,  47 ;  the 

people  somewhat  supported  by  tributaries,  47. 
Pallium,  what,  58. 
Parnasim,  who,  240. 
Pastoral  life  more  perfect  than  that  of  husbandry,  26 ;  followed  by 

people  of  condition  among  the  Greeks  and  other  nations,  26  ;  see 

Husbandry. 

Pastorals,  their  origin,  26. 
Patriarchs,  explanation  of  the  name,  21  ;    the  advantage  of  their 

longevity,  21 ;  their  very  names  historical,  23 ;  a  sort  of  kings,  24  ; 

their  riches  chiefly  in  cattle,  24  -,  but  without  horses  or  hogs,  25  ; 

had  slaves,  money,  and  perfumes,  25 ;  lived  chiefly  in  tents,  25 ; 

their  lives  laborious,  26  ;  their  meals  plain,  and  were  great  eaters, 

27 ;  enjoyed  good  health,  and  attained  to  a  great  age,  28 ;  their 

moderation  with  regard  to  wives,  29. 
Peace-offerings,  225. 
Perfumes  used  by  the  Israelites  before  musk  and  ambergrise  were 

found  out,  112;  used  sometimes  at  their  funerals,  116. 
Perea  described,  201,  202. 

Pharisees,  their  principles,  183 ;  gave  alms  in  public,  185. 
Phoenicians,  or  Canaanites,  whence  addicted  to  trade,  53. 
Phylacteries,  what  they  were,  note,  184  ;  curious  account  of  one,  185. 
Physicians,  first  in  Egypt,  29  ;  originally  surgeons,  72. 
Plato  borrowed  probably  from  the  writings  of  Moses,  170. 
Plato's  commonwealth  realized  among  the  ancient  Hebrews,  37. 
Plural,  when  first  used  in  speaking  to  one  person,  110. 
Poetry,  the  most  ancient  species  of  it,  91 ;  dramatic  not  used  among 

the  Hebrews,  92;  curious  specimens  of  it,  107,  108. 
Polygamy,  the  reason  of  it,  83  ;  reasons  why  tolerated,  84. 
Population  of  ancient  nations,  curious  facts  concerning,  48,  &c. 
Pot,  whence  Jerusalem  compared  to  it,  122. 
Presbyter,  whence,  148. 

Priests,  not  excluded  from  civil  offices,  or  bearing  arms.  124.  155; 
among  the  Israelites  and  Egyptians  the  only  writers  of  history,  96; 
not  necessary  at  the  ceremony  of  circumcision,  81  ;  forbidden  to 
be  present  at  funerals,  117 ;  their  court  in  the  temple,  121 ;  what 


INDEX.  279 

part  they  bore  in  the  sacrifices,  122  ;  went  barefoot  into  the  tem- 

Ele,  124,  233  ;  their  order,  election,  manner  of  life,  laws,  functions, 
abits,  234  to  236 ;  obliged  to  marry,  but  within  their  own  tribe, 
123, 167  ;  forbidden  from  wearing  woollen,  124  ;  their  support,  124 ; 
highpriests  from  the  time  of  Herod,  as  many  as  the  kings  pleased, 
178  ;  how  consecrated,  236. 

Priesthood  (High)  its  succession,  237;  passes  from  the  family  of 
Aaron  to  that  of  Judas  Maccabeus,  237. 

Prophets,  when  most  numerous,  131  ;  lived  in  societies,  131 ;  of  low 
circumstances,  131 ;  wore  sackcloth,  132;  often  married  men,  132; 
whence  David,  Samuel,  and  Daniel,  not  reckoned  prophets,  132 ; 
their  office,  132  ;  many  counterfeited  the  demeanour  of  prophets, 
133  ;  false  gods  had  likewise  their  prophets,  133  ;  called  Seers,  243. 

Prophesying,  how  promoted  by  music,  92. 

Proselytes,  of  two  sorts,  74,  191,  268;  one  hundred  and  fifty-three 
thousand  of  them  in  Judea  in  Solomon's  time,  74 ;  carefully  dis- 
tinguished from  the  true  Israelites,  167. 

Proselyte  of  habitation,  191  ;  of  justice,  192 ;  ceremonies  on  admit- 
ting one,  192,  193. 

Publicans,  who,  181. 

Pulse,  the  most  common  food  of  the  ancients,  and  which  gave  names 
to  the  best  families  among  the  Romans,  67. 

Purifications  prescribed,  for  what  reason,  70,  71. 

Q 

Queen  of  Sheba,  her  hard  questions  or  enigmas,  90. 

R 

Rain,  morning  and  evening,  means  spring  and  autumn  in  scripture,  43. 
Rashim,  who,  154. 

Rechabites,  who,  128,  229  ;  their  institutions,  242. 
Riddles  among  the  ancients,  90. 
Rising  early,  what  it  denotes  in  Scripture,  67. 
Rivers  of  Judea,  196. 
Romans,  their  esteem   for  husbandry,  37,  95;   their  genius,  173; 

dignities,  204. 

S 
Sabbath,  its  meaning,  207  ;  when  it  began,  207  ;  signifies  sometimes 

a  whole  week,  207. 
Sabbatical  year,  208;  no  debts  exacted  in  them,   50;    slaves  then 

recovered  their  liberty,  144. 
Sacrifices,  ordinarily  presented  and  slain  by  the  people  at  the  altar, 

121 ;  by  the  priests  at  the  public  sacrifices  for  all  the  people,  122  ; 

continual  sacrifice  of  four  lambs  daily,  122  ;  different  kinds,  '216, 

223,  225;  described  by  Eusebius,  216,  217. 
Sacrificing,  what  it  implies,  218,  219 ;  the  end  of  all  religion,  218 ; 

time  of,  221. 

Sadducees,  their  tenets,  183. 
Sagan,  highpriest's  deputy,  237. 
Samaria  described,  200. 
Samaritan  letters  the  ancient  Hebrew,  88,  166;  Samaritan  temple 

destroyed,  177. 
Samaritans,   their  origin,   250 ;    monstrous   idolatry,  251 ;   build  a 

temple  on  mount  Gerizim,  A.  M.  3595,  and  never  afterwards 


280  INDEX. 

addicted  to  idolatry,  252 ;  modern  in  Judea  and  Egypt,  253 ;  theii 

highpriest's  confession  of  fatth,  254  ;  deceived  by  Mr.  Huntington, 

257 ;    their  letter   to  their  supposed  brethren  in  England,  257  ; 

deliver  their  pentateuch  to  Mr.  Huntington,  261,  262 ;  this  copy 

described,  262. 
Sanhedrim,  or  council  of  seventy-two,  180;  name  explained,  180. 

See  Council 

Sceptre  not  departing  from  Judah,  what  meant  by  it,  143 ,  see  Note. 
Schools  for  study  little  in  use  among  the  Hebrews,  94 ;  whence  the- 

name,  94. 
Scriptures,  why  read  to  so  little  purpose,  18 ;  in  their  style  resemble 

the  ancient  Greek  writers,  98  ;  the  Greek  of  them  not  elegant,  1S7. . 
Septuagint,  account  of,  171. 
Sense  and  sound,  curious  combinations  of,  iu^the  Hebrew  poetry, 

Seers,  who,  243. 

Shemmieh  Esreh,  or  eighteen  prayers  of  the  ancient  Jews,  265. 

Sheminith,  what,  101. 

Shields,  Solomon's  three  hundred,  value  of,  249. 

Shiggaion,  what,  101. 

Shoshanim,  what,  102. 

Silk,  not  known  to  the  ancients,  nor  till  late  on  this  side  the  Indies,  61 . 

Sin-offering,  224. 

Swim,  what,  154. 

Sitting  at  meals  used  by  the   ancient  Israelites  and  Greeks,  66 ; 

changed  to  lying  from  the  reign  of  the  Persians,  67. 
Staves  anciently  lived  happier  than  our  country  people,  40 ;  few  among 
the  Israelites,  52,  82 ;    in  what  cases  they  became  so  to  their 
brethren,  144;   recovered  their  freedom  in   the   sabbatical   and 
jubilee  years,  144 ;    the  greatest  princes   reduced   to   slavery  by 
conquest,  165. 
Solomon,  his  immense  riches,  161 ;   revenues,  161,  249 ;  what  his 

example  teaches,  162,  163. 
Swigs  more  ancient  than  letters,  91. 
Sopherim,  the  learned  men  or  scribes  so  called,  88. 
Sophetim,  judges,  149,  154. 
Soterim,  inferior  officers  of  justice,  149,  154. 
Spain  had  once  the  same  customs  with  Africa,  now  more  resemble? 

Germany,  20. 

Stipulation,  what  meant  by  it,  152. 
Stola,  what,  58. 

Stones  of  the  temple  remarkable  ones,  66 ;  burthensome,  what,  86. 
Strange  women,  who  meant  by  them  in  Scripture,  141. 
Strangers,  why  avoided  by  the  Israelites,  and  by  other  nations,  73. 
Surnames  of  Roman  families,  67 ;  Grecian  explained,  33. 
Swine's  flesh  abstained  from  by  Egyptians  as  well  as  Jews,  69. 
Synagogues  in  each  city,  who  appointed  to  speak  in  them,  96. 

T 

ToJent,  value  of,  248 ;  how  to  reduce  it  into  English  money,  247, 

Tapestry  rarely  used  in  the  east,  64. 

Targets,  Solomon's  two  hundred,  value  of,  248. 

Targ-umista,  who,  240. 


INDEX.  281 

Temple,  why  only  one,  119 ;  no  trees  about  it,  120 ;  entered  into  by 
the  priests  alone,  120 ;  the  riches  prepared  for  it  by  David,  160 ; 
when  rebuilt,  168 ;  admired  by  foreigners  for  its  magnificence,  172 ; 
dues  for  tenths  and  firstfruits  sent  from  distant  parts  in  money,  179. 

Temple,  its  magnificence  described  by  Maimonides,  232,  233. 

Tents,  the  most  ancient  habitations,  25. 

Tenths,  228. 

TephUlin,  what,  184. 

Thee  and  Thou  the  language  of  antiquity,  110. 
\,  what  meant  by  it  in  Scripture,  111. 


Time,  how  measured  among  the  Hebrews,  205. 

Titles,  32. 

Totaphot,  what,  184. 

Trades  and  Arts,  53 — 57. 

Traditions,  Jewish,  very  frivolous,  186. 

Tribes,  into  how  many  the  Israelites,  and  other  nations,  were  divided, 
31  ;  tribe  of  Levi,  what  their  inheritance,  34 ;  of  Judah  and 
Ephraim,  how  distinguished,  34,  35 ;  what  tribes  included  in  the 
kingdom  of  Judah,  164;  preserved  distinct  during  their  captivity 
and  afterwards,  167  ;  Roman  and  Athenian  tribes,  32. 

Tribute,  how  much  paid  by  Palestine,  and  how  much  by  Babylon  to 
Darius,  163 ;  how  much  extorted  from  the  Jews  by  the  Romans,  178. 

Tsitsith,  what,  184. 

Tunic,  what,  58. 

Twelve  tribes  divided  into  their  families,  189,  190. 

U 
Urim  and  Thummim,  what,  239. 

V 

Virginity  anciently  not  reckoned  a  virtue,  83.  """" 

Vows,  127;  in  what  they  chiefly  consisted,  127;  of  the  Nazarites, 

what,  128  ;  see  226. 

W 

Wars,  155. 

Week,  207.     Week  of  Days,  207. 
Women,  their  employment  among  the  ancients,  79 ;  often  doorkeepers 

among  the  Israelites,  79 ;  inherited  only  in  default  of  male  issue,  82. 
Worship  among  the  Jews  attended  with  sensible  mirth  mixed  with 

spiritual,  126. 
Writing  probably  invented  before  the  deluge,  22;    not  mentioned 

before  the  time  of  Moses,  22  ;  contracts  in  writing  not  mentioned 

till  a  little  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  151 ,  obtained  late 

among  the  Romans,  152. 

Y 
Year,  Jewish,  of  how  many  days,  125;  how  computed,  210,  211; 

civil,  211 ;  ecclesiastical,  211  ;  exact  regulation  of,  214. 
Fears,  fouutsorts  among  the  Jews,  215. 

Z 

Zakonim,  who,  153. 
Zebachim,  who,  221. 
Zereth,  what,  238. 


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